Rain Soaked Tears
by DemonClowSorceress
Summary: AU. Soul Eater finds honor student Maka Albarn crying in the rain. He takes her home, and from there, the truth comes out. Rated T for some cursing.
1. Thursday

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

Rain didn't make desert cities a very habitable place, and Death City was no exception. Water flooded the streets as fast as rapids, inches deep in some curves and strong enough to tug at the ankles brave enough to ford them. It made the air heavy and the ground soggy, the sky dark and the city shiver.

Soul Eater liked the rain. Black*Star might call him an angsty emo ass for it, but Soul liked the rain. It cleared every street, meaning he could have a relaxing walk without someone talking to him every twenty minutes. With his trusty umbrella and his favorite jazz playlist on his iPod, Soul Eater was perfectly comfortable trudging through Death City's water-flushed streets for a nice long walk.

He found her in an alley twelve blocks from his apartment. At first, he thought he was seeing things. Nobody was around, certainly not anyone his own age. Plus, this was the one person who would've been the last one Soul expected to be where she was when he saw her.

Maka Albarn, number one student, huddled against a Dumpster and using a newspaper as a makeshift umbrella.

He paused his music and tugged an earbud loose. "Maka? What are you doing in there?" he called out. When she didn't reply, Soul moved closer. "Hey, did you hear me?"

Maka didn't appear to hear him. When he looked closer, Soul noticed that she was wearing her school uniform, a plaid skirt and white shirt under the overlarge black trenchcoat. Her trademark pigtails were gone and her hair hung in thin, limp wet strands around her face.

But when he saw her face, he was instantly worried. Maka had a blank expression on her face that made her look almost broken.

"Maka? Maka!" He knelt down and held out his hands to her, cradling the umbrella on his shoulder to block the rain from hitting them both. "Maka, it's me. It's Soul Eater."

"Soul?" she whispered, staring from underneath her hair. "Soul?"

"Yeah, Maka. It's me." Edging closer, Soul grasped her hands in his. They were ice-cold to the touch, and when he looked closer, he could see she was shivering. "You're drenched. Jesus, how long have you been out here?"

She blinked slowly, then dropped her gaze to their hands. "I don't know," she murmured. "I remember running..." She looked around. "Where am I?"

"Off Main Street, on the south side."

"Wow, I ran a long way from home."

Her words puzzled Soul. "You ran away from home? Why?"

Maka looked away. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Fine. Be that way." Pulling out his phone, Soul pressed eight on his speed dial.

Her hands tightened their grip on his. "Wh-Wh-What are you doing?"

"Calling for a ride," he responded. "I don't have my bike, and there's no way to get you home without getting you sick. I'll ask Kid to - "

"Don't make me go back!" Maka practically screamed, pushing away enough to look up with crazed green eyes. "Please Soul, don't make me go home! I'm begging you, please!"

The sheer amount of panic in her eyes and her voice made Soul pause for a brief second. Then he heard the call connect and Kid's voice saying, _"Hello?"_

"Kid, it's Soul. You and the Thompsons still at that little cafe on Main Street?"

"_Yes? Why?_"

"I'm about five streets south of there, in an alley by the bridge. I found Maka and she's in a bad way. Mind giving us a lift back to my place?" Soul asked, looking at Maka as he spoke. The gratitude in her eyes was staggering.

"_Yes, of_ _course_," said Kid, sounding concerned for their mutual friend and classmate. "_May I ask why she was so far from home?_"

"Later." Helping Maka to her feet, Soul handed her his umbrella and led her towards the street. "Just get us out of here, okay?"

* * *

After getting Maka inside his place and pushing her in the bathroom to dry off, Soul called Black*Star. As usual, his roommate Tsubaki answered the phone. "_Hello?_"

"Hey Tsubaki, it's Soul. Is he around?"

"_Oh, hello Soul! Yes, Black*Star is here. Hold on, he's playing on his XBox...BLACK*STAR! IT'S SOUL!_" she shouted away from the phone.

His blue-haired friend was on in seconds. "_Yo! What's up, man?_"

"Hey. You talk to Kid recently?"

"_Yeah, he called me after he dropped you off...what did her deadbeat dad do now?_"

"Don't know," Soul admitted. "I found her twelve blocks from my place in an alley."

"_DAMN! Her house is clear across town! She ran that far?_"

"Look, she's gonna crash at my place for a while. Can you and Tsubaki do your B and E ninja thing and get some stuff from her room? Clothes and stuff?"

"_Why not just borrow from - oh yeah, that wouldn't work._" Black*Star chuckled a little. "_Sure, we can go right now. Tsubaki will do the clothes run. I'm gonna see exactly what made Maka run so far._"

Soul could hear the steel in his tone. "This isn't the first time she's gotten upset like this, is it?" When Black*Star didn't respond, he knew the answer. "That dick. What's his problem?"

"_That's her story to tell, man. We'll stop by in an hour with her stuff._"

"All right. Thanks, man."

Soul hung up and heaved a sigh. Obviously there was more to Maka's life than her perfect honor-student persona let on. He'd only heard rumors around school about her horndog dad, but they'd been consistant about the cheating aspect. Sighing again, he ran his fingers through his hair to rake it out of his eyes.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Maka lay curled up on a plush couch under a thick blanket, listening to music as she watched Soul bustle around his little galley kitchen fixing tea. After a hot shower, she wore borrowed dry clothes from Soul while hers tumbled in his dryer.

Kid had been wonderfully understanding when he picked them up, only asking if Maka was hurt before driving them to Soul's apartment. Liz and Patti had taken Maka and began patting her hair and clothes dry with towels, fussing over her like mother hens.

Hearing a muffled swear, Maka glanced at her classmate as he stood by the stove. The strange albino Soul Eater. The cool, popular guy at Death City High School's freshman class. He just showed up on the first day of school, dressed in almost lazy-casual attire, with his spiky white hair and sharp teeth and those hooded red eyes. He was in a few of her classes, but Maka really didn't know much about him. Nobody did.

Suddenly curious about her secretive classmate's home, she sat up to look around. Contrary to his lax attitude and sloppy desk, the living room appeared to be quite clean. A set of shelves held what looked like albums, dozens and dozens of them. On the top shelf was a record player, which was where the music was coming from.

The most prominant piece in the room was the black piano dominating one corner, its glossy frame lit by the window behind it. Maka gasped softly at how beautiful it was. It looked quite expensive, though she didn't know much about pianos in general to be sure.

"Mint tea all right?"

Soul's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Oh. Yes, thank you," she said, taking the offered cup. After a few sips, she smiled. "Very good. Thank you."

"No problem." Soul plopped down beside her and set his cup on the coffee table. "You seem to be better now."

"Hot shower and dry clothes really help."

"You ready to go home yet?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm not going home tonight. And you can't make me," she said childishly.

"Like I'd be able to." The albino boy sighed heavily. "Well, you're welcome to hide out here for a few days."

"But we have school tomorrow!" Maka objected.

"No we don't. Teacher's meeting day, remember? And it's Thursday, which means we have a long weekend." Soul grinned at her. "I've got a spare bedroom. You can crash there til Sunday."

"Really?" He was acting weird, but Maka couldn't sense any ill intent. "You don't mind?"

"Are you messy?" She shook her head. "Are you a noisy early riser?" Another negative head shake. "You gonna harp on me every chance you get?" Still a no. His grin returned. "Then it shouldn't be a problem." Soul glanced over her attire. "But we gotta get you your own clothes. I doubt you wanna wear my hoodie and sweats for the next three days."

Maka crossed her arms. "And how would you see to that?"

"Let's just say, I've got a friend who's good at this kind of thing."

"What friend?" she asked suspiciously.

Her answer came in the form of a loud barrage of knocking on the front door. Maka instantly ducked under her blanket like a mole gone to earth. Soul just got up and went to check the peephole. "Relax," he told her as he unlocked the deadbolt, "it's just my delivery service."

"Delivery service?" came an affronted shout that Maka recognized instantly. "Bastard, I am a GOD! Just because you're a newcomer doesn't mean you get a free pass at insulting your God!"

She sat up in surprise. "Black*Star? You called Black*Star?"

"Hello Maka," Tsubaki said in greeting, edging past her roommate with a shopping bag in hand. "We got you a few outfits to choose from. I hope they're all right."

Maka, however, was still focused on Soul. "You asked Tsubaki and Black*Star to break into my house?"

"Psh, break in," Black*Star scoffed. "Please. As if it was that exciting. We just slipped through an open window."

"That's breaking in!"

"Tomato, onion."

"You're such an idiot!"

Ignoring the shouting match of childhood friends, Soul went to Tsubaki and took the bag from her. "Thanks. Really. She's probably going to be here til Monday."

"It was no trouble," said the older girl. "I brought all the things she usually brings for sleepovers."

"Thanks." Soul looked back at Black*Star. "Did he find out anything?"

Tsubaki's smile flattened like a blown tire. "Her father was passed out on the couch. That's all he told me. But Black*Star didn't speak all the way over here."

"Tell him to call me tomorrow, and thanks."

"Okay." Regaining her tolerant smile, Tsubaki walked back to her roommate and grabbed him by the scarf. "Black*Star, let's go now. Good night, Maka!"

"NO! TSUBAKI, I'M WINNING THIS ARGUMENT! YOU DON'T INTERRUPT A GOD'S ARGUMENT!" whined the blue-haired boy at the top of his lungs.

"You were losing anyway! Bye, Tsubaki!" Maka yelled after them. Turning on her heel angrily, she stalked toward Soul. He held out the shopping bag, which she grabbed, and watched her head back for the guest bedroom and slam the door shut.

_This will be an interesting weekend_.

* * *

**Another Soul Eater fic for you great readers!**

**Review please!**


	2. Friday

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

Soul was just waking up when he smelled fresh coffee brewing. Rubbing his eyes clear of sleep, he stumbled down the hall towards his kitchen. "Maka?" he called. "That you?"

"Who else would it be?" she asked, turning to face him. She was still wearing his hoodie, but thankfully he saw she wore a shirt beneath it and little sleeping shorts that revealed just how long her legs were. She caught his raised eyebrow of surprise and nervously said, "What?"

"You dress like a prude at school but you sleep in that getup?" he asked without thinking.

Her cheeks flushed red. "Sh-Shut up!" she squeaked. "Coffee's ready. I was going to make some eggs and toast. You want some?"

"Just toast, thanks." Moving past her, Soul opened the cabinet and took out his mug, passing another to Maka. "Here. You find everything all right?"

She held up the frying pan and spatula she found. "Well enough. You're remarkably neat, considering how messy your desk at school is."

Soul raised a brow again. "I'm not a slob in my own home. I have to live here." Taking a sip of coffee, he moved to the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk. "Want it?"

Maka blinked in surprise. "How did you know I take milk?"

"Rough guess." Handing the carton to the girl, Soul walked into the living room and flipped the TV on. "So, you had any plans for today?" he asked while checking the Weather Channel. More rain on the forecast, over five inches predicted...

She shook her head as she cracked three eggs. "No. I was going to study, but all my books are at home and I'm not going back." Her tone dared him to start an argument. Soul was not stupid enough to rise to the bait. "You need to go food shopping. You're almost out of...well, everything, really," she added, putting slices of bread in the toaster.

"Yeah, been meaning to." He had no idea what made him add, "Wanna come with?"

"What?"

_The hell are you playing at, Eater? _he scolded himself. "Yeah, well, two people can carry more," he explained. "If the weather wasn't so shitty I'd ride my motorcycle, but it is, so I can't."

"You have a motorcycle?" Maka asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"Those are dangerous vehicles even in the best conditions," she stated. "Do you wear a helmet?"

Soul scoffed. "Helmet hair is so uncool."

"So's crashing and having a broken skull and bits of brain scattered over asphalt is fine, but hey, so long as your hair looks cool."

"That's pretty morbid, Maka."

The eggs sizzled as she transferred them to plates. "Comes with Papa being a police officer. Now come on, breakfast is ready."

He didn't want to move, but something told him that asking Maka to bring it to the living room would set her off. So he walked over to the kitchen, took his plate, and stood by the toaster to wait for the toast to pop.

The machine dinged and the lever sprang up, catapulting two prefectly browned pieces of toast into the air. Soul snatched one from midair, dropped it on his plate, and turned to leave.

"Wow!" He looked back at Maka. "You have great reflexes!" she said, munching on her toast.

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Um, thanks?"

"No really, that's amazing! Just like a ninja!"

"Don't say that in front of Black*Star." Deciding to end this somewhat uncomfortable gush-fest, Soul ripped off a piece of toast and stuffed it in his mouth. "After this we'll head to the store," he said. "There's a break in the storm coming in the next half hour. We leave soon, we can get back before it cuts loose again."

* * *

The break from rain ended just as they trudged back from the corner store by Soul's apartment, forcing them to once more share his black umbrella. Weighted down with enough food for the next week, this turned out to be more difficult than they'd expected. Both teenagers were more than a little damp as they huddled under the umbrella while Soul fumbled for his keys.

"Ugh, gross," Maka said as they dripped across the carpet with their bags. "It should not rain this much in Nevada."

"It's a freak of nature," Soul agreed. He started putting everything in his cupboards methodically. "Well, we may drown, but at least we won't starve."

"Now who's being morbid?" There was a brief period of silence until a loud trumpet solo suddenly erupted to life, startling Maka with a sharp yelp. She looked around in shock but couldn't find the culprit.

"That's my phone!" Soul called. "Toss it to me, wouldja? On the sofa."

She retrieved the iPhone and chuckled. It was housed in a bright orange case, and on the back was a white soul sticker with the words **Eat Me** above and below the grinning soul. _How cute_. "Here."

He took it and pushed the green accept button on his screen. "Hey. What's up?" Glancing at Maka, he said, "The streets will probably flood in the next few hours. We might lose power too. Go get the flashlights and candles ready, will you?"

"Where?"

"Living room. Drawer beneath the record player." Walking back to his room, he partially shut the door and said, "Okay, I'm alone. Thanks for calling me back."

"_Tsubaki said you'd asked._" It sounded like Black*Star was trying to shift furniture while holding his cell phone smashed between his cheek and shoulder. "_You sure you wanna know?_"

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't."

A heavy sigh rattled static through the line. "_Near as I could figure, Maka waited up for Spirit. Cooked him dinner and everything. Well, the ass brought home a friend for their own little "celebration." He and the chick were sucking major face and making for the couch when Maka saw them._"

"Damn." Soul pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's such a stupid - Who does that?"

A nova-bright flash of lightning cracked through the sky, blinding Soul and followed by the loudest thunderclap he'd ever heard. His apartment's power went out moments later. Lightning flashed outside his window as the rainfall turned into a monsoon, battering his closed windows. "Crap," he grumbled. "Power's out here."

_"Same. Tsubaki's getting the flashlights." _Black*Star suddenly sounded guilty. "_Don't tell you I told her, okay? She doesn't like people knowing just how scuzzy her dad is._"

"I won't." Hearing a muffled curse outside his door, Soul called out, "You okay out there?"

"I tripped over your shoes and dropped the matches!"

He chuckled. "I'll be right out. Please don't burn my apartment down." Returning to Black*Star he said, "Thanks man. Talk to you later."

* * *

"Good call on the candles," said Maka, feeling much better with the soft flickering lights placed around the room.

"Normally I wouldn't even bother, but it's not cool to have a guest stumble through your place in the dark." He passed her a thin flashlight. "Here. Keep it with you so we don't waste your phone battery."

She smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Thank you." She glanced around for another topic and noticed his piano again. "You play?"

The albino barely flicked his gaze to the instrument. "Once."

"Were you any good?"

"Eh."

She frowned. "That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting." Now he changed the conversation. "Shouldn't you call someone to say where you are? Your mom or dad?"

Now Maka was on the defensive. "Mama is out of town, travelling Europe. Papa can go screw himself."

Wisely not touching that loaded statement, Soul leaned back on his couch and closed his eyes. The sound of the rain, while vicious, was strangely calming. If he didn't think about it, he could almost believe that he heard a melody weaving its way through the hammering droplets and thundering rumbles.

"What're you doing?"

"Listening."

"To what?"

He opened one eye to look at her. "Shut your mouth and your eyes and find out yourself."

Her frown deepened, but Maka did as he said. Closing his eye again, Soul fell back to listening to the sound of rain.

"...Oh."

He smiled. "You get it now?"

"Not really. But it's interesting." She didn't _sound_ like she was BSing him. "Do you do this often?"

"Not really," he said. "But I do a lot of listening."

"Is it a musician thing?"

"I guess you could call it that."

"It's really cool."

He shifted, unsure of how to respond to that. Nobody had ever said something like that to him before. Not his parents, not his brother...nobody.

He just didn't understand Maka Albarn.

* * *

"Hey, Soul?" Maka asked after two hours of listening to the rain. When he didn't respond, she figured he'd fallen asleep. She got off the couch and quietly tiptoed into the kitchen, beaming her flashlight around to look for food.

Munching on the candy bar she discovered, Maka was about to head into her room when a thought struck her. She retrieved her iPhone from her bag and went to sit at the piano. Surfing the Internet for a beginner's piano diagram, Maka put a lit candle in position to cast its light over the ivory keys. She checked the screen, then placed her finger on the correct key and pressed.

The single note echoed in the air, louder than Maka had expected. She quickly drew back, but when Soul didn't seem to stir, she reached forward to press another key. A different sound was released, making the blonde girl smile in pleasant surprise. _I'm playing an instrument! _Emboldened, she played a simple tune and hummed along.

"What are you doing?"

"Soul!" She stood up in shock when she saw his eyes glaring at her. "I was just...I was curious about how it sounded," she said lamely. "I'm sorry. But it's a beautiful-sounding instrument."

His glare softened. "It is," he agreed.

"Do you play classical?"

"Used to."

She got the distinct impression that there was a story behind it, but she knew how private Soul was. So she asked, "Can you play for me?"

"No." Now he stood up and looked away from her. "Are you hungry? I'm going to have some dinner."

Rebuked, Maka moved away from the piano and returned to the couch. She was only trying to show her appreciation for the piano, and he seemed almost uncomfortable. It was like he thought he wasn't deserving of it. Which made no sense.

She just didn't understand Soul Eater.

* * *

Soul didn't know why he woke up in the middle of the night. He could've blamed the weather, but the thunder had passed already and it was only raining heavily.

But he knew why. Maka.

"_Can you play for me?_"

Her words haunted him. The last time someone had asked him to play, he'd been scolded. He'd avoided the piano ever since then.

But now, for the first time in years...he wanted to play.

Getting out of bed, he plodded out into the living room and lit a candle. He sat at the piano and placed his hands over the keys, feeling the cool ivory beneath his fingers like a comforting salve. His eyes fluttered shut as he tuned out the rain, the candle, the apartment around him.

He took a breath. Held it. Listened to that place inside him, that dark, twisted pocket of his soul that gave him inspiration, waiting for its awakening.

And his fingers released the first dark chord into the night.

* * *

**Another chapter for you great readers!**

**Review please!**


	3. Saturday: Morning

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

Maka was just stumbling out of her room when she heard someone pounding away on the front door. The fear that her father had found her was near-instantaneous. Before she was conscious of her movements, she'd bolted back down the hallway and practically jumped over Soul's bed to hide.

Well, she made it halfway. Her legs impacted his, making the albino sit up and curse as his shins erupted with pain. "What the - hell?" he said, seeing her cower behind his bed. "The hell you doing, Maka?"

"S-S-Someone's at the door!" she stammered.

"And you instead of letting them in, you decided to hide there?" Throwing back his covers, Soul yawned and made his way towards the front door. "That's real rude of you, Miss Honor Student."

Maka followed as closely as she dared. When he moved to open the door, she ducked behind the couch again. Soul's drawl held a slight chuckle. "You gonna hide from all my houseguests?"

"What if it's my father?"

"I doubt it." He opened the door to the sound of pouring rain. "Oh. It's just you."

"Mou, Soul! What gives?" said a lilting female voice that Maka didn't recognize. _Definitely not Papa. _"A pretty girl comes a-knocking and you leave her to drown out on your doorstep?"

His reply was tolerant. "Hi Blair. What d'you want?"

"My apartment's flooded - "

"Again?"

" - and I'm wondering if you have any dry towels!" Blair continued. The voice got louder as she entered Soul's apartment. "If so, can I use - Oh!" Surprise changed the female tone. "I didn't know you had company. My bad!"

Maka looked up to see an older purple-haired woman staring down at her. From what was not blocked by the couch, she appeared to be well-endowed in the way that made the younger girl want to cover her chest. Maka rose to her feet, trying to keep her expression non-judgmental when she saw that Blair wearing a barely decent outfit of black hotpants, thigh-high black stiletto boots, a black bikini top beneath a fur-collared short black jacket, and a wide-brimmed witch's hat. It screamed _Stripper _to Maka's eyes.

"Hi!" said the purple-haired woman with a great grin. "I'm Blair, Soul's neighbor! Who are you? His girlfriend?"

Shock at that statement had Maka dumbly saying, "Ah, eh, wha?" _What makes her think that?_

* * *

_Of course Blair would come to that conclusion_, Soul thought. He didn't have female guests over, so what else could she think?

"Blair, leave her be," he said tiredly, coming over to the couch. "She's my classmate. Maka, this is Blair Zwan. She's the resident weirdo here and my - "

"Neighbor!" Blair pouted at him. "So?"

"So what?"

"Can I use your towels?"

"Why?"

"Because I need to shower before I go to bed!"

"Use your own towels!"

Maka had to interject. "Um, you're going to bed at nine in the morning?"

Blair took off her hat and shook it out. "I just got off work at the Jack O'Lantern. Night shift. Been there since seven!" She stretched with a loud moan, rising to her tiptoes and drawing even more attention to her scantily-clad assets. "Oooh, a hot bath would do me so good!"

"You're trying to finagle your way into mine, aren't you?" Soul replied.

"Well, my place is flooded!"

"You really ought to get that fixed." Heaving a sigh, he thumbed over his shoulder to his bathroom. "Go. You get an hour. And clean up after yourself this time, okay?"

"Yay!" Blair cheered, throwing her arms around Soul and pulling him into a hug that faceplanted him into her bosom. "Thank you Soul! Nice meeting you, Maka!" With that she took off for the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Then it cracked open. "Feel free to join me!" she called out.

Face still red from the unexpected hug, Soul rolled his eyes. "So uncool." He caught Maka's rigid stance and raised a brow. "Hey, you okay?"

When she spoke, her words had to be forced through gritted teeth. "She works at the Jack O'Lantern?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah? So?"

"Do you know what that is?"

"Yeah, and again, so?"

Her eyes were like green flames. "You're on bathroom-sharing terms with a - a - _an exotic dancer?_" she hissed.

Now he understood what her issue was. As the daughter of a womanizer, it would be an understandable conclusion. "She's not an exotic dancer, Maka," he explained. "She's a waitress."

Maka scoffed. "Yeah right! Who wears that outfit and is _only _a waitress?"

"A waitress who works at a cosplay bar like the Jack O'Lantern. All the girls wear stuff like that."

"And how do _you _know _that_?" she snarled. "Do _you _go there too?"

"Yea - " It occured to Soul that his answer mught be skewed wrong, so he hastily shut his mouth. But the damage was done.

"I knew it." She spoke in a whisper, but there was enough caustic rage in Maka's voice to eat through steel like acid. "I knew it. All men are pigs. Lying, horny bastards and pigs!" Her voice rose with every word until she was screaming over the rain. "I hate you!"

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind at those words. She's upset. She didn't mean it. He barely knew her. She barely knew him. He shouldn't take it personally.

It shouldn't feel like his heart was just torn out of his chest.

But before Soul could react, she was gone.

Blair came running out a minute later, a towel wrapped around her body, to see him standing with a stunned look on his face and the front door swinging open in the wind. "Soul? Soul, what happened?" she asked, shaking the boy's shoulder. "Soul!"

The albino blinked, then looked at her. "Blair?" He looked around the apartment. "Where's Maka?" His eyes landed on the open front door. "Dammit! That idiot!"

"Did you say something stupid?" Blair asked as he stuffed his feet into his sneakers and grabbed his umbrella.

"Blair, stay here!" he ordered. "I'm going to look for her!"

* * *

**Blair and the first big fight, complete with man-hate!**

**Review please!**


	4. Saturday: Noon

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Maka blindly stumbled through the flooding streets as fast as she could. The icy water splashed and numbed her feet and the rain felt like needles against her bare skin. Again she cursed herself for running without grabbing her trenchcoat.

But mostly she cursed herself for trusting Soul. Skidding to a halt under a nearby canopy, Maka tried catching her breath as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep whatever warmth she had left. While she did, she seethed.

She'd been so stupid. He was a male! Of course he was just like her papa. What other type of man would offer his home to a _stripper_?

Her rational side spoke up. _The same type of guy who'd offer his home to a girl he barely knows who's just run away from home_.

Now that her adrenaline was disappearing, her temper was cooling in the rain. Her mind stopped focusing on her anger and started thinking logically again. Soul hadn't looked exceptionally happy at seeing Blair. In fact, if she had to describe it, Maka would say he treated the buxom woman like she was an annoying free-spirited younger sister. He'd even blushed when Blair had plonked his head into her boobs when she hugged him.

_Aw shit. I fucked up, didn't I_. Shivering in her thin shirt and sleeping shorts, barefoot and in the middle of a flooded Death City, Maka realized that she had just royally misunderstood the entire situation. And once again, she was out in the cold with nobody to care about her.

"MAKA!"

She perked up, looking around the empty street. Nothing was open due to the flooding, so there wasn't a soul in sight. But she couldn't sworn that she heard someone call out to her.

"MAKA, ANSWER ME!"

Maka looked towards where the shout was coming from and saw a familiar white mop of hair. "Soul?" she called out. "Soul, over here!"

He was at her side in seconds, umbrella in hand. "You idiot, what the hell were you thinking?" he snapped, ripping off his black coat and throwing it over her shoulders. "It's freezing out here! Red eyes quickly scanned her body in a way that spoke of concern, not lechery. "Your feet..."

"Huh?" She looked down and saw half a dozen red lines creeping up her soles. "Oh, I must've run over some glass or rough cement - AH!" she squealed as Soul quickly swept her up in his arms, one arm under her knees and the other behind her back. Maka grabbed the front of his shirt in shock. "What the hell?"

"You're not talking back with messed-up feet like that, they'll only get worse," Soul stated firmly. "Now don't squirm. It won't be very cool if I drop you."

"You can't walk all the way back carrying me!" Maka objected.

"I'll sure as hell try," he snapped. "Now hang on. And hold the umbrella, wouldja?"

She obeyed sullenly, wrapping an arm around his neck to help distribute her weight. Warmth from Soul's chest was seeping into her skin, making her shivers ease off slightly. Huddling closer, Maka winced when lightning flashed overhead. She rested her head against his shoulder and couldn't help but smell that same light cologne that she'd first smelled on the hoodie he'd first lent her.

He thought she slept in the thing because it kept her warm. Well, that wasn't her _only_ reason...

"Geez, you're heavy. What do you weight, about a buck-thirty?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Ow! Not in my ear, you idiot!"

"...Sorry."

Soul's steps were very steady despite the water currents gripping his ankles. "And for the record, Blair's my cousin."

That made her do a double-take. "She's what?"

"My cousin." He looked at her. "That's why she's so overly familiar with me. And she's not a stripper, she's really a waitress. She's just a borderline exhibitionist."

Ashamed at how badly she'd misunderstood everything, Maka hung her head. "I'm sorry. I - I didn't know."

"S'nothing to be sorry about."

"...Is the rest of your family like Blair?" Too late Maka realized that she might be prodding, but she really wanted to know. Blair and Soul just seemed so oddly mismatched, her an outrageous free spirit and him a reserved cool guy. The idea that they hailed from the same gene pool was tough to fathom.

"No." A change passed over Soul's face like a cold wind. "No, they're not."

"Is that why you don't live with them?"

For a few seconds, it seemed like he wouldn't answer. Maka could feel his heart speed up in his chest. But then he said, "It's...complicated. Let's just say we didn't see eye to eye when I left home."

* * *

Blair was dressed and waiting for them when they got back to the apartment. "I've got a hot bath for you, Maka, so just go soak for a while," she said. "Soul, go see if you can scare up some hot chocolate."

Shooing the albino away, Blair hustled Maka into the bathroom and peeled off her wet pajamas. She helped the blonde girl into the tub, then fetched the rubbing alcohol and gauze for her injured feet.

Leaning back in the water to her shoulders, Maka couldn't meet the older woman's eyes. "I'm sorry about earlier," she mumbled.

Blair smiled at the girl without a hint of malice. "I guess I was a bit oblivious. I forget that some people hear my workplace and immediately think I take off my clothes for money."

"I'm sorry."

"No biggie." Lifting Maka's food from the water, she patted it dry with a towel. "Not that I can blame them. I mean, take a look at me. Nineteen years old and stacked like a brick house."

"You're lucky," said Maka.

"How d'you figure?"

She winced as the rubbing alcohol stung the cuts on her foot. "You're not self-conscious about your body. You're...so free."

Blair gently wrapped the injured foot in gauze. "That's why I'm living here. In my family, you've gotta be a stuffed-shirt hoity-toity lady. I just wanted to live life my way, be my own person." A catlike smile pulled her lips back. "Wear what I wanted to wear." Letting Maka's bandaged foot rest on the bathtub rim, she fished out the other one and began the process all over again. "Soul came out a year later, but he knew I barely make enough to pay for my own place, so he lives alone."

"Why did Soul leave home?"

"You really ought to ask him," Blair said.

Further conversation was halted by Soul's yelling, "Lunch is ready! Are you two done yet?"

"Just about!" Blair shouted back. "Give us five more minutes!" Looking back at Maka, she smiled. "Ready to face the world?"

"Yeah," Maka nodded.

"All right then. Let's get you spiffed up."

* * *

**Yeah, Blair seems like the wild child of Soul's stuffy family.**

**Review please!**


	5. Saturday: Afternoon

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

Once again Soul was glad that the power had come back on sometime during the night. He stirred the cream of mushroom soup one last time, then set out three bowls. Checking the hot water, he laid out the fixings for three cups of hot chocolate. _Five minutes, my ass, _he thought. _Why do girls always say that and take so much longer? It's so uncool...then again, Maka's feet looked pretty cut up...what if there was glass in her cuts? _

Now more than somewhat worried, Soul headed over to the bathroom and knocked on the closed door. "Maka? You all right in there?"

"Fine!" she called out. "Blair's just...um...well, I'm not sure what she's doing, but I'm okay!"

_Not sure what Blair's doing? _"Blair, what are you doing?"

His cousin's reply was anything but comforting. "You'll seeeee, nyah!"

_Aw crap, she made that cat noise of hers. That means she's been meddling_. But Soul knew that he'd get no say in the matter, so he wisely went back to the kitchen and waited for them.

Ten minutes after the half-hour long "five minutes", Blair skipped into the kitchen with a big smile on her face wearing her hotpants and a tanktop that stretched tight over her chest. "Heeeey, Soul!" she trilled as she picked up a bowl. "Oooh! Cream of mushroom! Yummy!"

"I thought you were going to sleep. Don't you have work tonight?"

Blair made a face. "Ugh, you're right. Poo. Wait, aren't you working too?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So?" his cousin echoed. "What about your houseguest? You should bring her along!"

_Shoot_. He had forgotten about Maka. His reply was instantaneous. "Hell no."

"Why not?"

"She doesn't need to see what I do."

"Soul, it's not an indecent job. That's my gig."

"She's not coming tonight, period," he stated. The look on Blair's face wasn't relenting, so he swiftly changed tack. "Where is she now?"

"Fixing her hair."

Soul sighed. "She in her room?" When he only got a nod, he headed back to get the girl. "Yo, Maka! Aren't you hungry?"

Maka was dressed in her own sweats and his hoodie again, leaning against the hallway wall panting as she tried to put weight on her bandaged feet. "I'm just - getting out - there - " she huffed. "Stop - being - so - pushy - "

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He quickly moved to her side and picked her up again. She gasped in pain, and Soul froze. "You okay? What's wrong?"

"Just - really - hurt," she gritted through her teeth. "Feet - hurt."

"So why were you walking?" Soul asked. He carried her into the living room and gently deposited her on the couch. "Moron. The injured shouldn't hurt themselves more by trying to be macho." Her hairstyle made him grin. "Pigtails? Really?"

His tone made Maka's lips tighten into a childish pout. "What's wrong with pigtails?"

He reached out to tug one with a smirk. "That. And you look like a six-year-old." He twirled the pigtail's end around his finger, surprised at how soft her hair was, then caught himself and let go. "I'll get you some soup and hot chocolate. That'll warm you right up. Stay there."

Luckily Blair hadn't eaten all the soup before taking off, so Soul poured a bowl for Maka and fixed a cup of hot chocolate. He carried them out to Maka, who had managed to sit up on the couch without jostling her feet. She took the offered mug and sipped its contents. A look of pure bliss stole over her face, adding a huge smile to her lips. "This is amazing!" she said, taking another drink. "Oh my gosh! What did you put in it?"

"Trade secret," he said, pleased that she was smiling again. His eyes suddenly registered her fingernails, a shock of color against her pale skin and the black mug in her hands. "What's that? Blair did your nails?"

As if his noticing made her anxious, Maka's fingers began drumming on the mug's surface. "Um, yeah," she said. "I liked the color, and I've never had my nails done before."

"It is a nice color," Soul admitted. A crystal sapphire blue, each nail had a white flower design painted over the base polish. _Blair and her salon tendencies_..."Now eat the soup."

"Did you jack that up too?" Maka quickly ate a few spoonfuls and hummed. "Yummy. Is this also a trade secret?"

He grinned cheekily. "Yeah. I mix it with paint thinner." Maka stuck out her tongue in reply, to which he grinned. "I've got to get going soon. You need anything meanwhile?"

"Where are you going?"

"Gotta make rent money."

Her interest piqued, Maka leaned forward. "Doing what?"

Soul glanced aside. "What I can get. Look, you need to stay off your feet for the rest of the night. I'll leave the phone by you and put everything you'll need around the couch. I'll only be working until nine or ten. You can keep out of trouble until then, right?" He gave her a smirk that dared her to prove him wrong.

From the way her eyes narrowed, his challenge was accepted.

* * *

_Sooooooo booooooooored._

Maka slumped in her dent on the couch and snapped off the TV. Nothing was playing on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and she was ready to liquify from her boredom. Heaving a sigh, she dropped the remote on the coffee table and stretched, careful not to move her elevated feet too much.

_I almost wish I could get into trouble, _she thought listlessly. _At least it'd be something different. _Sighing again, she looked around the room once again. The piano, once more, caught her eye, but after Soul's reaction the last time she touched it, Maka was not going to risk another attempt at playing it.

The record player was her next interest. Maka had never really seen one before; in this age, they were as rare as VHS tapes. Curiosity got the better of her, so Maka carefully rolled off the couch and crawled on her hands and knees towards the shelving unit where his player and vinyl records lived.

Smart as she was, it took her a few minutes to figure out how to work the record player. Partly because she was working with an unfamiliar machine, and partly because she didn't want to break anything. Deciding to play the record Soul had left, Maka held her breath, turn on the machine, and moved the needle to the farthest groove on the vinyl record.

For a few seconds, all she heard was silence. Then the first warbly notes of a clarinet filled the apartment, and Maka was hooked.

It had to be jazz. There was no rhyme or reason to the music, as if the musicians had just been making stuff up as they went along, and it somehow managed to blend together perfectly. Maka had never listened to much jazz before, but hearing this was making her seriously consider finding more.

Rifling through the rest of Soul's vinyl records, Maka read the album names and checked each one on Wikipedia. As she'd suspected, most were jazz albums, but there were a few classical piano ones. Her smile grew as she gained more information about her classmate's taste in music. Now she _really _wanted to hear him play.

She was about to crawl back to her couch when Maka spotted a dust-covered sleeve behind all the other records. Pulling it out, she found that it was a violin album, which featured and autographed by someone named Wesley Evans.

She frowned, puzzled. _But Soul plays piano, not violin, right? Why does he even have this?_

* * *

**Curious Maka is always a treat to write.**

**Review please!**


	6. Sunday: Morning

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

She woke up in her own bed.

_No, _Maka thought before the panic blinded her. _No, I'm still in Soul's apartment_. _I must've fallen asleep on the couch last night and he carried me back to bed_. Sitting up, she stretched and yawned. _It's really dark. Did the storm get worse overnight?_

A knock echoed through her bedroom door. "You awake?" Soul called in.

"Yeah." The door opened and revealed the albino holding a lit flashlight. "Did the power go out again?"

"Yeah, been out since I got home last night." He walked to her bedside and handed her the flashlight. "Ready for your carriage ride to the couch, milady?" he teased gently.

A smile found its way to her lips. "Why thank you," she said, throwing back her covers and opening her arms. "Ready to go."

Once more he picked up the girl bridal-style. "How are your feet?" he asked.

"Better." She couldn't even feel any pain anymore. "I think they're almost fully healed."

"That's cool." Soul smiled at her. "Give it a while longer, and maybe you'll be walking by dinnertime." Placing her on the couch, he turned to head towards the kitchen to cook breakfast.

Maka waited until she heard the clatter of dishes before pulling out her iPhone and hopping on Google. The name Wesley Evans had been bugging her since she found the buried album, and when Maka was bugged by an unknown thing, she didn't rest until the knowledge was hers.

Remarkably, the first website she clicked on yielded the answers she wanted. Wesley Evans, better known as Wes Evans, was a prominant violinist from the famed Evans family of musicians. Maka had heard of them, but only in passing; she knew as much about classical as she did about jazz. Wes was apparently the prodigy of the family, as skilled as any master and only in his twenties. There was even a link to some pictures of him...

"What's new on Facebook?"

Badly shocked, Maka quickly opened Facebook on a new page. "Um, Liz just switched her relationship status to single," she said in a high-pitched voice. "Geez, you came out of nowhere."

"Didn't realize the kitchen was considered nowhere," he joked, holding out a mug of coffee. "Here. Black, shot of milk."

"Thanks."

His eyes kept focused on her hands. "Your nails aren't painted anymore."

Maka nodded. "It felt weird, so I took the polish off. Will Blair mind?"

"Doubt she'll even remember. She's a little flaky sometimes." He gave her a sheepish smile. "She's pushy, but she means well."

"I'm sure." Maka glanced out the window at the angry gray sky. "Think it'll clear up by tomorrow?"

"Weather forecast says so. Hopefully it'll dry out before school."

_School. _Monday. The end of the weekend and the return to their normal lives. Surprisingly, the news saddened Maka more than she thought it would. She barely knew Soul well enough to feel this way.

_Not true_, whispered her conscience. She'd learned more about this reclusive boy, more than most people in school probably knew. He was kind, and gentle, and a true gentleman when the mindset to be so struck him. He wasn't judgmental and frequently saw the truth in people.

"You want more coffee?"

She looked down at the cold inch of coffee she still had in her cup. "Yes please."

Soul reached over and took the cup. "Be right back."

Once he was gone, Maka's phone was back in her hands and opening the page on Wes Evans again. Scrolling to find the link to the picture gallery, she tapped the first one.

Maka's jaw dropped. He looked almost like Soul. Correction. He looked _exactly _like Soul. Right down to the hair and eyes, even the way he was staring at the photographer, as if he alone knew something amusing the instant the picture had been taken.

_But Soul's last name is Eater, _she thought. _It's just a coincidence, right? _Continuing to scroll down, she found a link that offered a photo of the Evans family. Intrigued, she clicked it. There was Wes, standing behind two chairs that held his parents, who were also incredibly handsome people.

And off to the side, wearing a pinstriped black suit, red dress shirt, and that unmistakable scowl, was Soul.

"Holy crap," Maka whispered.

"What's up?"

Again Soul reappeared without a sound, making her jump in shock. "Liz is back in a relationship," she blurted out, setting her phone aside and accepting the offered cup.

"She rebounds fast."

"Tell me about it." Taking another sip of coffee, Maka's gaze drifted over to the record player. "Can you put on some music?"

"Sure, why not." When he saw the record she'd left on the machine, his grin was smug. "Oh? Jazz, eh? Knew I'd turn you into a fan."

"Actually, I'd like to listen to that violin record you have."

The change over Soul was as shocking as it was instantaneous. His shoulders stiffened as his fists clenched at his sides. The earlier laidback attitude evaporated, and the cold change made Maka's eyes widen. "What violin record?" he asked icily.

"The one hidden behind your other records. The one signed by Wes Evans."

"And why do you want to listen to that?"

Maka may have been injured, but she was by no means ignorant. She could hear a trick question when it was directed at her. But her curiosity won out over her caution, so she boldly answered, "Because I want to hear what your brother is capable of."

Soul shied away from her like she'd brandished a taser at him. His eyes skittered to stare at the floor. "How did you figure it out?"

"Wikipedia," she answered shamelessly. "You _are_ an Evans, aren't you?"

"Remember when I asked if you were going to harp on every little thing? This qualifies as harping." Soul still refused to look at her. "I'm not an Evans anymore. I'm Soul Eater. End of story." Turning on his heel, he started past the couch to head to his room. Faster than taking a breath Maka's hand shot out to grab the hem of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks. He glared back at her. "What?"

Maka let go as quickly as she'd grabbed, surprised at herself. "I - I didn't mean anything by it," she said. "I'm sorry."

He looked away and sighed heavily. "It's okay," he murmured. "Just - it's still a raw subject to talk about."

Of all the people he could have said that too, Maka was by far the most understandable. Experience made her reply, "Sometimes talking about it helps, a little."

Ruby red eyes glanced back at her, intense as a star, as if he was appraising her. He had a powerful stare, Maka realized once again. Almost like he could look through you - or wished he was able to. "I'll make you a deal, okay? If I tell you, you have to tell me what your old man did to make you run away."

"Didn't Black*Star already blab that to you?"

"He didn't go into specifics. Just said your dad brought home a girl."

That raised her childhood friend's appreciation ranking by several points. Maka thought about the deal for a few seconds, but her answer was already a forgone conclusion. She wanted to know about his past, and frankly, it was time she finally came clean about her own troubles at home.

"Okay. I'll tell you."

* * *

**Sorry it took so long. Figuring out how this would turn out was difficult.**

**Review please!**


	7. Sunday: Afternoon 1

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

Soul wasn't sure how to proceed. Talking about his family had never been easy. Now he had to explain why he left home to this girl? The thought was almost as difficult as playing the piano had the night before last.

But he had, and he'd felt so much better afterward. Hopefully sharing his past with Maka would be just as cathartic. Plus, it wasn't as if this was a one-way street. He'd learn something about her as well. An even trade, he figured.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned back and crossed his arms. "Don't interrupt, okay?" he said. Maka nodded vigorously.

"Yes, I'm an Evans." Might as well state the obvious to clear the air. "My family's always pumped out pretty skilled classical musicians. Dad's a master cellist, Mom played a harp better than any angel. Wes is a genius when it comes to the violin. Music's all you really know in that house."

He leaned forward and tapped his fingers together. "When I was two, they put me in a room filled with instruments and told me to pick one. Strings, woodwinds, drums, you name it, it was in there. And this huge, beautiful, black grand piano that took up a corner like the biggest beast I'd ever seen. It drew me in, like it was calling me. Before I knew it, I was tapping out a tune on the keys."

The urge to ask a question was plain on Maka's face; the girl would absolutely suck at playing poker, Soul thought. But apparently she had more self-control than he'd expected, because she never said a word.

"When I was six, my parents made me perform publically for the first time. Everyone said I was gifted, a genius like Wes, but even I could tell that I wasn't in the same league as him." Remembering the brittle compliments had Soul stiffening in his seat. "It got worse as I got older. Having to fake a smile around people, hear them compare me to Wes - No matter what anyone said, Wes and I were too different. He was like a shaft of sunlight, playing with a purity that had people hooked with every note. And I - I had this shadow in my soul that I tried to keep from tainting my music." One hand clenched into a fist. "That just made it worse. It made me paranoid about playing perfectly, and my parents kept pushing me to straighten up and fall in line. It got...got really bad for a while..."

Maka leaned forward and covered his aching fist with one hand. Stung, he looked up to glare at her. But her green eyes didn't hold a trace of pity; rather, she looked at him with empathy that he could tell was genuine. Swallowing his anger, he continued.

"I discovered jazz when I was eleven. It was the coolest thing I'd ever heard, so different from classical music, like black and white." His memory brought back that sense of wonder he'd felt. "Jazz has no restrictions, no boundaries. You can improvise whatever feels right, and there's nothing that says it can be too dark or wrong." He flashed Maka a crooked grin. "I started playing it in secret. It's really hard to explain to someone who doesn't get music, but...I felt right. For the first time, there was something I was better at than Wes. Something that was mine alone."

His pride was tainted by disappointment. "I was working on this piece of my own. My first composition, I was so proud of what it was becoming. My parents found it one night, and my father...My father took one look at it and asked how an Evans could write such garbage." A lump formed in his throat, but he forced himself to speak past it. "My first composition, my heart and soul, and he called it garbage. Called _me _garbage, in effect. And Wes did nothing, said nothing, to defend me."

"You left." Her words weren't a question, but a statement of fact.

"That night. Grabbed my clothes and enough cash for a few months of cheap rent and hopped on a bus to Nevada. Blair picked me up at the station. I changed my name to Soul Eater and never looked back. That was a year ago." Letting out a slow breath, Soul leaned back in his seat and shrugged. "That's everything."

Maka licked her lips and seemed to be picking her words carefully. "So, they've never tried to contact you?"

"Wes tried a couple times at first, but I haven't heard from him in a few months." Soul shrugged again. "Mom and dad never did. Not that I care." Taking a sip from his mug, the albino grimaced at the taste of cold coffee. "Ugh. Gross. You want more?"

She nodded. "Sure."

"Don't think you're off the hook," he warned the girl as he collected her mug.

Her frown was all sorts of puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"When I get back in here..." Soul's grin would've made a shark squirm. "Your turn for show and tell."

* * *

**Awww, poor Soul! ****Next up is Maka's story.**

**Review please!**


	8. Sunday: Afternoon 2

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

Maka fidgeted in her seat while she waited for Soul to return. Even though she'd promised to tell, the thought of confiding her family problems in a boy she barely knew didn't exactly give her the warm and fuzzies.

_But he barely knows you and he did it_, reasoned her conscience. _And it wasn't easy for him to confide. _Maka could tell how stressed he'd been to bring up those memories. Even after a year, he had trouble speaking about it. And his family problems had been actual problems - hers seemed so insignificant in comparison. A pittance.

When he returned with steaming cups, Maka took hers and sipped. Surprise blanketed her insides when her tongue tasted hot chocolate. Really good hot chocolate. "You're trying to get me to relax," she accused him.

He shrugged modestly. "Is it working?"

"Maybe." Another sip of hot chocolate, and Maka wiggled to get comfortable in the couch. "Don't interrupt?"

Soul gave her a snarky half-smile, but he mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key before leaning forward with a patient look on his face. Taking a deep breath to center herself, Maka put down her mug and exhaled.

"Mama and Papa's divorce was finalized about three years ago. She filed because he'd been unfaithful. He took it pretty hard, always crying that he loved her even when she moved out of the house. The judge awarded Papa full custody because Mama's job requires her to travel all the time, and Mama didn't contest the ruling. Like she didn't care if she couldn't have me live with her." Biting her bottom lip, Maka took a second to force herself not to cry. "I made Papa promise me to never lie or sneak around again. He swore to me that he'd never date another woman, that he'd be better for Mama and for me. I knew he was lying, but I thought I could change him."

Soul made a face at her words, but he continued to hold his tongue in check. Maka continued. "Since he was single again and one of the most desirable police officers in his precinct, I knew he dated. I knew every time he left on a date, because he'd wear that god-awful cologne and his nice suit and his special pick-up-chicks tie. I didn't make a big deal out of it. He'd always tell me he was going out with his partner, and he'd swear he'd be home before I went to bed. He'd say that he loved me." Her eyes burned from the sting of betrayal. "And he was always home on time. He never lied about that - until Thursday night."

The mention of that night made a light in Soul's eyes go out. She could see him flashing back to that rain-soaked alley, finding her curled beside a Dumpster like an unwanted kitten in a cardboard box. How she'd begged him not to take her back to that house, to her father.

Maka had to swallow hard before going on. "I cooked a big dinner because I saw he'd made a big bust on TV. That serial killer case outside of town, you know?" He nodded. "Well, he promised to be home by six. Dinner was ready by five-thirty. Then it was six. Then seven. Then eight." Unable to look at Soul anymore, she dropped her gaze to glare at the carpet.

"He stumbled in at around eight-thirty, and he wasn't alone. This bottled blonde woman was practically laminated to his chest. They headed for the couch, and Papa...Papa never saw me. He was too busy sucking her face off." Her voice burned with anger as her mind recalled every detail with perfect clarity. "All I could think was, "That bastard. He lied to me. I hate him." I think I screamed at him, maybe threw something. I don't really know; it was like I wasn't really there, you know? I was so mad. Next thing I knew, I was running out the door and into the rain."

Admitting that her father was a cheating bastard wasn't that difficult. To admit that she, Maka Albarn, had had that sort of meltdown after the fact was beyond embarrassing. To the rest of humanity, Maka Albarn was a perfect straight-A student. To the few friends she did have, she had some anger issues and a womanizing father she kept in line by brandishing a thick hardback book.

But this? The shame, the pain, the complete meltdown? Nobody knew. Except Soul.

"Maka..." he whispered. He paused, as if choosing his words with as much care as possible, before continuing. "You made that much of a fuss, but that dick hasn't called you once to find out where you lit off to?"

Just his tone made her look up; not sadness or pity, but hoarse anger. His red eyes were almost glowing, like rubies set over flames. She blinked in shock. Was he...was he actually getting angry for her? Nobody had ever really reacted this way to her sadness before. Then again, she didn't share much with the world.

"No, he hasn't," she replied. Her iPhone never gave off that special ringtone of her Papa's for the entire weekend. "Wasn't expecting him to, really."

"Why not? He's your dad, goddammit! If he gushes that he loves you so much then he should be worried sick that you've gone missing for the last three days! I'd - " Before he could complete that thought, Soul snapped his jaws shut with an audible click.

Maka frowned. "You'd what?"

"Nothing." Wiping the anger from his face, Soul remarked, "No wonder you have issues with dating. With a parent like that, I'd be paranoid about the other sex's intentions too."

"I don't have issues with dating," she said defensively.

"So the string of first-date-dumps behind you is, what, Cupid's sick joke?"

She gave a bashful smile. "So you know about those?"

"Every guy in school talks about them. They guessed it was because you were a stuck-up bitch who thought she was better than everyone else."

"Not you?"

He shrugged. "I read people better. I could tell it was something else, just not what it was." That snark grin made a comeback. "Besides, you were so far out of their league it was kind of pathetic."

That comment made Maka look at him like a curious cat. She'd never heard other people talk about her attractiveness, at least not positively. "Really? I thought that guys went for boobs over brains."

"Yeah, we're shallow bastards like that sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"Sometimes we get so damn intimidated by a smart girl that we can't even get the nerve to talk to her." His sharp grin held a touch of something else as Soul regarded her. "So we fall back to being grade-school idiots about that girl."

The blunt truthfulness of his words surprised Maka. "Has anyone told you that you're an odd person?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Kid's made the observation once or twice. Black*Star's more vocal about my weirdness," he admitted. "You talking about my coolness?"

She hurried to clarify. "That way you have about speaking the truth and not giving a damn about how it affects people."

"You try going through fifteen years of censoring your words for everyone. I don't give a damn anymore."

Her phone went off in her pocket. "Oh, it's Kid. Hang on a sec."

Soul smirked at the ringtone. "The _Danse Macabre_?"

"Is that what it's called? He likes it." She pulled out the device and pressed ACCEPT CALL. "What?"

"_You sound awful snappy._"

"You're interrupting a conversation. What's up?"

"_Just a head's up. Your father has been making frantic calls regarding your whereabouts._"

Maka sat up straighter. Her eyes shot to Soul, who tensed at the way she looked at him. "Tell me you didn't."

"_I didn't. Neither did Black*Star,_" Kid added. "_Nobody else knows you're with Soul. Well, aside from the Thompson sisters, and they wouldn't give Albarn the time of day. But you'd better be careful. You know how he is with boys around you._"

Oh yes she did. Some of the boys still paled at the recollection of her father's extensive collection of sharp-and-shiny weaponry. Maka could understand; what dad threatened his daughter's first date with a scythe? "Thanks for the head's up, Kid. I owe you one."

"_You're welcome__. Put Soul on, please?_"

* * *

**Maka's story, a little bonding, and now Spirit!**

**Time to brace for the hurricane!**

**Review please!**


	9. Sunday: Evening

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

When Soul got the phone, Kid repeated everything he'd just told Maka. The albino sighed when he finished. "Well that's just great. Any ideas where he'll start bashing down doors first?"

"_No idea. He might try Tsubaki or Kim or Jackie, but I doubt he'll go as far as your apartment. He doesn't know that Maka knows you._"

Soul started thinking. Maka's house was clear across Death City, closer to the school, as was Black*Star and Tsubaki's place and a couple of her other friends' houses. Chances were that Spirit would comb through that entire neighborhood before thinking to wander around downtown. If he did before the weather turned foul.

"Well, it's too late to sneak her home now," Soul said aloud. "The rain's supposed to get worse in the next hour. Her uniform's clean, so we'll just part ways after school tomorrow."

"_Tell her she should call her father and let him know she's safe._"

"I'll take a stab at that. See you at school tomorrow." Soul hung up and handed the phone back to Maka. "Kid says you should call your dad before he tears the city apart. Seems he's looking for you in that mess outside."

Maka glanced out the window at the worsening weather. "He's a fool," she muttered.

"So chew him out for being a fool and order him home," Soul said. "Tell him you'll see him after school tomorrow. Just get him out of this weather before he hurts himself."

"You sound like you almost care."

"I know you, Maka," he replied.

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You don't know that much about me."

"I know that you're a good person, and no matter how much you hate your dad's skeevy ways, you don't want him hurt on your account." He knew how to make people listen to him, and he could tell she was absorbing every word. "So call him, order him home, and we can focus on hunkering down for the night. I'll break out the flashlights again."

Leaving Maka in the living room to make her call privately, Soul started hunting up the flashlights and candles that had been scattered around his apartment over the weekend. He was checking for batteries and matches when his phone started blasting the Meow Mix jingle. "What's up, Blair?" he asked in lieu of hello.

"_Can I stay over with you tonight?_"

"Your apartment still flooded?"

"_Like the Titanic. So, can I?_"

On any other day, Soul would have said yes. But with Maka, he wasn't sure if close quarters with Blair would be such a good idea. She'd be annoyed after calling her father, and Blair, although she meant well, had a bad habit of exacerbating a tense situation.

"Sorry, not today Blair. Can you get to one of your girlfriends' places?"

"_In this weather? I'll drown! Give me a ride!_"

"In this weather?" he repeated. "I ride a bike, Blair, remember?"

"_There's a break in the rain coming! Please Soul, please! Just to Arisa's place, please!_" she begged, naming a friend who lived just over the bridge.

Soul heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. "This is such a bad idea," he muttered. "But fine. Get your crap together and be up here in five." Hanging up, he jammed the phone back in his pocket, gathered up the flashlights and candles, and headed back into the living room just in time to catch the end of Maka's phone call.

"Papa, for the last time, I'm fine! Now go home and stay there! I'll be home after school tomorrow." She hung up, and then flung her phone across the room angrily. "That asshole!"

He raised an eyebrow. "I take it your old man didn't take that well."

"The idiot wanted to know where I was! He said he had my GPS location and he was heading over!" Her words sounded angry, but there was a hint of fear in her eyes. "I told him to get home before the weather worsened, but I don't know if he'll do it. He's that big of an idiot."

Setting his armful of supplies on the coffee table, Soul grabbed his keys. "I gotta go out for a bit."

Maka jumped off the couch like she'd sat on hot coals. "Why?" she asked. "It's flooding out there!"

"Blair needs a ride to her friend's house. Her apartment flooded again."

"She can walk!"

But Soul shook his head. "She's hopeless. I'll drop her off and come right back."

"But what if - what if Papa really does come here?" Panic was making her lungs churn into overdrive and her voice climbed another octave. "Soul, if he finds out I'm staying with you - "

He crossed the room and put his hands on her shoulders. "Maka, breathe," he ordered firmly. "Okay? Calm down." He stared into her eyes and breathed deep and slow, waiting until she mimicked him. "Now listen to me. I will be taking my time driving to Arisa's, so it will take me about an hour to get there and back. When I leave, you lock the door behind me. If you leave the lights off, nobody will bother you. Don't open the door for anyone, okay?"

"I'm not a child," she pouted. "I've been a latchkey kid for almost five years."

"Then this shouldn't be news to you." With a gentle pat to her head, Soul gave her a reassuring smile. "Now don't worry. Stay warm and dry. I'll be home soon."

There was a knock at the door. He gave Maka one last pat on the head, pulled on his jacket, jammed his keys in his pocket, and opened the door. "Let's go, Blair," he said to his cousin, pulling the door shut behind him.

* * *

The power went out ten minutes after he left.

Huddled on the sofa with a flashlight in hand, Maka shivered as she stared at the rain-streaked window. Her nerves grew more taut as thunder rolled through the darkening sky. She didn't think her father would risk the weather to find her, but this _was_ Spirit Albarn. He was probably stupid enough to do it.

She quickly dialed another number and bounced in place as the other line rang. Finally someone picked up. "_Hello?_"

"Miss Marie? It's Maka."

"_Maka? What's wrong, sweetie?_"

"Is Doctor Stein there? It's important."

In five seconds there was another voice on the line, deeper than Miss Marie's. "_What is it, Maka? We're trying to keep the clinic from flooding in this damn monsoon_."

"Hey, could you get my dad to stay with you tonight?"

"..._You're joking, right?_"

"No," she said wearily. "He's freaking out that I'm not home, and..."

"_Where are you?_" A note of concern was barely audible beneath the gruff voice.

"That's not - "

"_Where. Are. You?_" he repeated more firmly.

She sighed again. "I'm - staying with Soul Eater."

"_I know him. Good kid_." And coming from the people-hating mad doctor, that was saying something. "_I'll hunt your idiot father down and tie him to an exam table. Be safe_."

"I will be." With that, her last uneasy feeling was put to rest. _So why am I still feeling nervous? _Maka stood up and let her feet take her to Soul's room. His hoodie was still over his chair where he'd left it. Pulling the orange-and-black hoodie over her head, the blonde girl breathed in the smell of clean fabric and Soul. Her nerves instantly calmed and settled.

_Which is absolutely ridiculous, _she thought. _Why should this calm me down? I barely know Soul Eater Evans_. _I should not be reacting like...like an idiot girl with a crush!_

The moment she thought it, her cheeks flushed bright red in shock and embarrassment. Clutching the collar of the hoodie nervously, Maka walked back to the couch in a daze. Wrapping the blanket around her legs, she sat in the darkness and tried to sort through her confusing thoughts.

It was true, she didn't really know Soul. Nobody did. He was too different, too strange, with his spiky white hair and glowering red eyes and dangerous shark-tooth smile. He was caustic and disrespectful and sarcastic and just an all-around jerk.

But she trusted him. More than any other boy she'd ever met. She trusted him almost as much as she did Black*Star and Kid, two boys she'd known practically all her life. Enough to tell him about her parents, about her father's indescretions, enough to spend several nights with him and not fear for her safety.

A sudden crack of lightning made her jump clear of the couch. The following thunderclap made her scream as she dove for cover beneath a blanket, shivering like a frightened rabbit.

She heard someone fumbling against the front door and felt her heart stop. _Oh god,_ her panicked brain thought irrationally. _Papa found me. He found me. He found me! _

She curled into a ball beneath the blanket and held her breath as the door opened. She heard wet footsteps squish on the carpet, then heard the thick slap of a wet jacket being dropped. "Maka?"

Her eyes popped open in shocked relief. "Soul?" she called out nervously. "Is that you?"

"No, it's the Mad Hatter come to have some tea," he said snarkily. "Who the hell else would it be? Where are you?"

Maka didn't even realize she'd jumped off the couch until her feet were flying over the carpet. She didn't realize she was still clutching the blanket until she threw her arms around Soul and wrapped them both in the fluffy spread.

"Whoa, calm down," he said in shock, catching her around the waist to keep them both from falling over. "Hey, Maka, shhh. It's okay."

"S-s-s-s-s-sorry," she stammered. "T-t-t-t-t-thought you w-w-w-w-were m-my dad."

His grin flashed in the dim light. "No way is he gonna search in this mess. I almost drowned heading back here."

"You - oh!" Maka gasped, catching sight of a scrape on his forehead just above his left temple. "You're hurt!"

"Well, yeah, just said I almost - "

"Does it hurt?" she asked, touching it without thinking. When he sucked his breath in sharply Maka flinched. "Oh god, sorry - "

"Don't - " Soul sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. "Don't move, Maka."

"Why?"

When the next lightning flash lit up his face, she was astonished to see his pained expression. "Because truthfully, I'm fighting every urge I've got to kiss you right now."

* * *

**Hey everybody! Just got back from NaNoWriMo, and I'm a winner this year! *shameless back-patting* So, some juicy plot development for you faithfully waiting readers!**

**Review please, because you know you wanna!**


	10. Sunday: Night

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

"_Because truthfully, I'm fighting every urge I've got to kiss you right now_."

Soul knew those words were a completely uncool move on his part the instant they tumbled out of his mouth. But he couldn't help himself. The way she was tightly hugging him, wearing his hoodie for the fourth or fifth time since she'd arrived, her wide eyes, her light touch on his scrape - it all mixed together and merged with his almost-hidden feelings for the blonde girl.

A girl who just got done telling him how emotionally scarred she was thanks to her womanizing bastard of a father. _Smooth move there, Soul. Real smooth. Why don't you cram your foot just a tad bit farther down your throat?_

Swallowing hard, Soul dropped his arms from her waist and took a step back. "I-I'm going to take a shower," he said, unable to meet her eyes. "Light some candles, will ya? It's blacker than pitch in here."

"O-Okay. Wait." She released him from her warm, blanket-wrapped embrace and shuffled back to the couch. A beam of light hit the ceiling and cast a dim light over everything. "Here's the flashlight. We lost power a while ago."

"Thanks." With remarkable calm and coolness Soul managed to walk back to his room without turning around to look at Maka. When he shut his door, he leaned back and heaved a sigh. "Crap. Just...crap."

After grabbing a set of dry clothes, Soul went into the bathroom and set the flashlight to illuminate the shower for him. He shucked off his wet clothes and left them in a pile on the floor, fiddled with the water knobs until the temperature was just south of scalding, and stepped into the pounding stream of water.

Well, he blew it. Knocking his forehead against the wall as quietly as possible, Soul hissed a swift string of curses under his breath. One chance, _one lousy chance _he had at getting this right, and he blew it. Well and clear out of the water.

As childish as it was, he blamed Maka. She was so damn honest, so open, that after three days of not having to watch what he said around her it had affected him. Made him feel so comfortable that he forgot to keep a lid on the most important things. When she'd all but thrown herself into his arms, trembling and stammering that she'd feared Soul had been her father, the only thing he could think to do was hold her and try to diffuse her fear. Soul tried to make light of everything and ignore the fact that she was pressed against him, her arms around his neck and her face barely inches away from his.

But when she'd touched his face, her touch had ignited something inside him...and he hadn't been able to stop himself. The words just came out.

The water ran ice-cold before Soul realized he'd been in the shower for so long. Shutting off the water, he quickly toweled off and dressed in his warm clothes. He left a towel over his wet hair as he headed back to his room, planning to give her space and hopefully not increase the awkward.

The sound of someone plinking on his piano made him stop mid-step.

* * *

Maka picked her way across the ivory keys with one finger, trying to calm her unsteady breathing and jumbled thoughts. Her mind refused to settle, thought, continuing to play Soul's confession on a loop.

"_Because truthfully, I'm fighting every urge I've got to kiss you right now_."

A master of detecting lies, Maka had seen that he'd been telling the truth. And from the way he had retreated, he hadn't meant to voice that sentence aloud. Which told her that Soul was just as confused as she was.

Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, she let her fingers dance down from the top of the piano. She hit a particular key and paused, hitting it again. The sound intrigued her, strong without being too loud or too high or too low. "I wonder what note this is," she murmured.

"It's a G."

She jumped in her seat at the sound of Soul's voice. He was barely visible in the gloom of the hallway door, but Maka could still see his white hair he was rubbing dry with his towel. "Where's the flashlight?"

"Left it in the bathroom. What are you playing?"

"Nothing really," she said with a shrug. "I don't know how to play. I'd like to."

"You want to learn piano?"

"I want to learn about music." Somewhere in her mind Maka realized that there was no awkwardness between them, as if what had happened earlier hadn't happened at all. She liked it, this return to their usual. She didn't know if it was intentional or not, but she was grateful. "I've read about it in books, but I don't get it. And looking at this now - " She gestured to the piano helplessly and finished, "I dunno, it looks really difficult."

Now it was his turn to shrug. "Not really. You just need a good teacher."

"Know anybody in town?"

"Me."

Maka gave him a disbelieving grin. "That so?"

"Guy's gotta make rent somehow. People pay good money to learn piano. And they pay more when they suck so bad they need more lessons."

"You're that good."

Soul scoffed at her unconvinced tone. "Uh, yeah, I'm that good."

"I require actual proof." She patted the spot on the piano bench next to her. "So c'mon, show me some of your mad skills."

* * *

"Mad skills?" Soul repeated, smirking. "Maka, no. You can't say that."

"Why not?"

"Because coming from you, it's too adorable to be taken seriously. Like a little fluffball kitten trying to take on a Great Dane." The slight insult brought a pout to her lips, which in the candlelight only made her seem even angrier. Soul's smirk grew bigger. "That pout doesn't really sell your case either."

"I'm not pouting!"

"Oh yes you are."

"Are you going to play for me or not?"

Soul shrugged. "Sure. Why not." He let his towel hang around his neck like a stole and picked his way across the candlelit living room. He was thankful they there was no longer any awkwardness between them. It made it much easier to sit so close to her on the

"So you teach people how to play the piano?" Maka asked as he sat down beside her.

"Yeah." He swallowed and let his fingers find their places on the keys, trying to quell the butterflies in his gut. Unlike his secret play on Friday night, he now had an audience. He'd never had stage fright as a boy, but then again, he had never played for one important person. "Any requests?" he asked lightly.

She shook her head. That smile, open and honest, flashed in the candlelight. "I just wanna hear you play."

"I'm gonna warn you, what I play is a little...a little dark, and twisted." When his words didn't seem to deter her or dim her smile, Soul refocused on the piano. "All right. Here goes..." He flexed his fingers, took a deep breath, and raised his hands.

When they crashed onto the keys, he felt the darkness within him spring to life once more. Instead of holding back, he let it flow through his fingertips and give life to the music pouring out of the piano. He lost track of time as he played, his eyes closed and his fingers dancing nimbly over ivory keys that released his twisted melody into the silence of his dark apartment. All he cared about was making his music show everything he was, revealing the darkest, most secret parts of himself.

The end of his song was as abrupt as a train wreck. Soul brought it to a screeching halt with two discordant sets of tangled notes that split the night like gunshots. He was panting from the speed of his playing, sweat beading on his face and arms trembling from exertion. His eyes focused on the keys, fighting to twist in their sockets to see Maka's reaction. He squeezed them shut like a scared child preparing to be yelled at.

This was the moment of truth. If she reacted like his parents, like their friends, like his brother had...if she didn't accept him...

"I didn't really get it," she admitted. "But I know that it's beautiful."

His eyes popped open to stare at her. "What?" he blurted out. He wanted to believe her, but Soul knew better than anyone how easily such words could be faked. But Maka's voice hadn't sounded like someone speaking out of their ass. No, it sounded - normal. Honest. Like she was speaking from the heart.

"It's dark, sure, but it's different. It's powerful and it's moving and it's just...just..." She gestured aimlessly without words for a few seconds. "I don't know how else to describe it, but I really like it, Soul."

Then she did something that just knocked the wind right out of them. Maka leaned forward and kissed his cheek. It was so fast and so light that if he hadn't been watching, Soul might have thought he'd imagined the whole thing. When she pulled back to search his face, her irises looked as dark as evergreens.

"Wh-What was that?" he asked, voice dry as paper.

A blush darkened her pale cheeks. "For letting me stay here, and listening to my problems, and just for...for caring." Suddenly she looked away from his face and at the piano. "You could've just left me in that alley."

"I couldn't have done that," Soul disagreed.

"You didn't have to bring me to your home."

He touched her chin and gently turned her face towards him again. "Hey. I wasn't going to leave you there," he said. "That's not how I am."

"Well, after tonight I'll be out of your hair." Before he could reply, she whispered, "See you in the morning," and headed for her room.

"Yeah," he mumbled into the darkness. "See you in the morning."

As if he needed to remember that this weekend was over. That he'd no longer have an excuse to talk to Maka. That they'd go back to their daily lives and have no reason to interact with each other outside of school.

Outside, the rain continued to pelt the ground.

* * *

**ARGH! These two annoy even me!**

**Review please! We're nearing the end, I think.**


	11. Monday: Morning

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

When he saw Soul's motorcycle pull up to Death City High School bearing two riders, Death the Kid smiled. He'd hoped that they would come in together.

Flanking his sides like the bodyguards they were, Liz and Patti Thompson likewise noticed how Maka and Soul rolled up to school. "Hey, Mr. Cool's got Little Miss Perfect riding bitch seat," remarked Liz in her brutally blunt way while filing her nails. "Never thought she'd take it."

"They look cute together," Patti replied, folding yet another origami giraffe while sucking down her third bottle of yellow energy drink. "Don't they Kid?"

Now that she mentioned it, Kid could see what she meant. "They do give off a certain complimentary appearance," he said. They were two of his good friends, and he liked it very much that his two friends were getting along so well.

"Some people don't seem to think so," Liz said, her blue eyes glancing at the crowds of girls scowling at Maka as the younger girl climbed off the bike's seat and pulled off her helmet. "Shallow tramps. They're already giving Maka the stink eye."

"Let's beat them up!" Patti chirped with a beaming smile.

"How about no." Smirking at his bodyguards, Kid shook his head and turned to face Soul and Maka as they headed towards him. "Good morning, you two."

Maka's smile was almost as bright as the morning sunlight. "Hello Kid, Liz, Patti!" She bowed to them suddenly. "Thank you so much for that ride Thursday night," she said. "I don't know how to thank you."

"Please, think nothing of it," Kid replied. "I was happy to help. And we were in the area anyway."

"GOOD MORNING, TINY INFIDELS! YOUR GOD HAS ARRIVED!"

Together the two boys and three girls rolled their eyes as Black*Star strolled up the steps, his chest puffed out to idiotic proportions. Following closely was Tsubaki, her trademark apologetic smile already in place.

"Soul!" Black*Star yelled, slapping his best friend a high-five. "Hey Kid, Liz, Patti." They recieved imperious nods. Rounding on Maka, he put his fists at his hips and bellowed, "AND YOU, MAKA!"

"Yes?" she asked, a patient smile on her face.

"WHADDYA MEAN, "YES"? WOMAN, WE NEVER FINISHED OUR ARGUMENT!"

One eyebrow rose up the ash-blonde girl's forehead. "You're not serious."

"A GOD IS ALWAYS SERIOUS ABOUT DEFEATING A MORTAL IN AN ARGUMENT!"

"YOU'RE NOT A GOD!" Maka shouted, losing her temper in seconds.

"AH, DENIAL! NOT JUST A RIVER IN ENGLAND!"

"IT'S IN EGYPT, YOU DUMBASS!"

The conversation devolved from there into a shouting match between childhood friends too proud to thank and be thanked for silence. Kid smiled in amusement and let his gaze wander to Soul.

Or rather, where Soul had been standing before the argument got underway. Looking around, Kid saw the white-haired boy shuffling his way into Shibusen. A frown creased his forehead. _What was that all about?_

The cry of "MAKA CHOP!" brought his attention back to the fight. Considering Black*Star was down with stars in his eyes and Maka was brandishing one of her hardback textbooks, the winner was clearly decided. Green eyes glanced around in surprise. "Where's Soul?" she asked.

Kid pointed over his shoulder to the front doors. "He headed inside."

The disappointment barely bloomed in her expression before she wiped it away. "We should too," she said, adopting her level school voice. "First bell's about to ring." She walked up the steps with her customary hop-step, bouncing like a ball as she headed for their first class.

Tsubaki spoke first. "What was that? I thought they were friends."

"Something must've happened," Liz said. Her smile grew sly. "Maybe Soul tried to put some cool moves on her."

Patti laughed. "He'd be comatose! Maka woulda Maka-Chopped his skull in half!"

"Perhaps there was a moment," Kid said, "and then it grew awkward. Then the avoidance might be explainable."

Fully recovered from the Maka Chop, Black*Star sat cross-legged and said, "Way to state the obvious, Stripes."

Mention of his hair's asymmetric blemishes made a vein in Kid's forehead bulge to volcanic proportions. "_What have I said about talking about you-know-what?_" he growled at the blue-haired loudmouth.

Oblivious as a blind man in the dark, Black*Star blithly said, "Don't?"

"Liz, give me your gun."

"What? I don't have my gun with me."

"I know you do. It's hidden under your hat. Give it."

Liz sighed. "No way, rich kid. Boss's rules. No weapons on school grounds."

"Patti!"

The younger Thompson blissfully handed the loaded weapon over. "You better run, bitch!" she cackled to Black*Star. "Kid's almost as good a shot as Big Sis!" Black*Star's face paled in horror, and with a very ungodlike scream, he booked it as fast as possible.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Great. I'll have to tell the principal about this..."

* * *

Soul chuckled when he saw his two best friends walk into third-period class just short of too late. They looked like they'd had one of their infamous "tussles" and he wondered just how much property damage had accumulated this time.

"I'm glad you two decided to show up," said Miss Marie with a smile. "How about you sit down and join the rest of us?"

The class laughed as Black*Star and Kid made their way to their seats. Soul's laugh died in his throat when he locked eyes with Maka. She looked away first, dropping her gaze to stare at her textbook.

_Dammit. _He'd hoped that acting normal after last night's surprise kiss would have made her less anxious. But it appeared to have backfired on him. Now Maka was avoiding him completely, and Soul had no idea how to fix the situation.

"...Eater. Soul Eater. SOUL EATER!"

The sound of his name being shouted was punctuated by an eraser thrown at his his head with deadly accuracy. Reflex helped Soul avoid the projectile as he glared at Miss Marie. "What gives?"

"Now that I have your attention, can I have a word?" she asked sweetly.

"I dunno. Can you?"

"...Just get your ass down here."

Joke over, Soul trudged down from his seat and followed Miss Marie out into the hallway. She shut the door before saying, "Thank you."

"For?"

"For taking care of Maka." Miss Marie favored him with a grateful smile. "Stein and I were so relieved when she told us where she was. When Spirit told us what had happened..."

Soul scowled. "Did the Doc go dissection-crazy on the bastard?"

"No, sadly." Her golden eye darkened. "But he was mewling when _I _finished with him." That glint of violence in his teacher's uncovered eye made the boy wince. Marie Mjölnir was legendary for being an ex-yankee in her youth, and not a few thugs on the street still cowered in fear when "The Pulverizer" walked by. "And Stein left him securely strapped to the operating table when we left this morning, so hopefully I can go another round."

"Uh, okay Miss Marie, I should get my work done," Soul said nervously. "Good talk."

* * *

All in all, it was a good Monday morning.

At least, that was what Maka tried convincing herself all morning. But truth be told, she was obsessing over the little matter of how she'd pecked Soul Eater on the cheek the night before.

They'd acted normal that morning as they got ready for school, and Soul hadn't brought it up at all. A relief, since Maka really had no idea what she would have said if he had. When they arrived at school, she tried to put as much distance between them as possible.

But that didn't work for long. After three days in such close quarters, she found herself missing his presence. She'd catch herself looking around for his unruly snow-white mop, or searching her classmates for those brooding ruby eyes. It got so bad that when she arrived at the cafeteria for lunch, Maka began actively scouring the tables hoping to see him.

There! Sitting between spiky blue and white-lined black, across from long dark brown and two heads of dirty blonde. A familiar slouch, a familiar smirk, and once she saw them, a familiar tremble started working its way through her gut.

Tsubaki saw her standing there and waved, drawing the attention of the others at the table. When Soul turned around, for a brief few seconds Maka caught the smile that flitted across his face. It was gone by the time she got to the table, though.

"Hey Maka! Sup?" asked Liz, carefully applying another coat of polish to her nails.

"Just peachy." Dropping her bag, she sat down beside Tsubaki with a sigh. "English was awful. I hadn't studied all weekend, but thank God I got to look over Kim's notes. For a fee, of course."

Kid frowned. "But Kim doesn't take notes in class."

"I know. Which is why she got them from Ox."

Soul snorted. "Little witch has him completely whipped," he said.

"I know, right?" Maka giggled. She stopped when both teens realized that this was their first conversation since arriving at school. Everyone else was watching the pair intently save for Black*Star, who was busy stuffing his face to care. Then Soul cleared his throat awkwardly, Maka got up to purchase her lunch, and the moment was lost.

Kid exchanged a dry look with his bodyguards. He could almost _see _them mentally facepalming. Rolling his own eyes in reply, he turned to strike up a conversation with Soul...and instead let out a very harsh, very pointed, and very soft, "Well, _fuck_."

Naturally, Soul blinked and said, "Geez, overreact much?"

"Not you. Look." The golden-eyed boy inclined his head towards the windows; more specifically, at the red hair that was currently bobbing along the bottom edge of the windows. "That's Officer Albarn over there."

Those words caught even Black*Star's attention. Swallowing the mouthful of food he had, the blue-haired wannabe god carefully looked over. "What's that bastard doing here? Miss Marie said Doc Stein left him strapped to a table."

"Apparently not securely enough," Liz remarked. "Musta cut the straps. He always carries a blade on him somewhere..."

Patti, abandoning her half-formed origami giraffe, asked, "So what'll we do?"

"Maka won't wanna talk to him. She's still pissed off." Kid absently twisted one of his skull rings as he thought. "But we can't _not _tell her that he's prowling around."

"He can't come inside to get her, right?" Soul suddenly asked, his eyes still trained on Spirit's head. "Principal Reaper won't let him take Maka out of class without a valid reason, right?"

Kid nodded. "That is Father's standing rule, yes. Barring family emergency or illness, no early pickup is allowed without prior permission."

"Then we have to tell her." At the shocked looks from everyone Soul explained, "She needs time to calm down and prepare what she's going to say to him. And what's more likely is she's going to cop out and start planning an escape route instead."

More than one eyebrow rose at the albino's uncharacteristically insightful words. "Dude," Black*Star finally said. "The hell happened over the weekend?"

Soul shrugged. "We talked about stuff."

"Maka doesn't talk about stuff. Not to people she barely knows."

"Barely knows what?" Maka asked as she rejoined them, her tray laden with food. "What'd I miss?"

Kid was about to reply when Soul beat him to the punch. "Your dad's prowling around outside. We just saw him."

The change was instantaneous. "Where?"

"Outside the window. Don't look," Soul said when she made to look for herself. "He's probably gonna hang around until last bell, which means you've got two choices. Wait until school's over and talk to him later, or skip class and talk to him now. Either way, you two are gonna have to talk."

Imagine Kid's surprise when, instead of whipping out a textbook and acquainting his skull with its spine, Maka actually seemed to take Soul's opinion under consideration. That surprise was compounded when she slowly nodded and said, "Okay. I'll wait until after school."

"No trying to slip away."

"Shut up."

"Seriously." Red eyes met green with a surprising amount of intense emotion. "You've got a real chance to fix this, Maka. Don't lose it."

Kid blinked. Maka being compliant was one thing, but Soul giving encouragement? The guy was the definition of antisocial, and yet he'd used more words in the last five minutes than he used in class for the last six weeks. And yet there was enough tension between them to break every string on a violin...

_What exactly happened over the weekend?_

* * *

**Hey everybody! Yes, I'm still alive. Here's another chapter for you, stay tuned!**

**Also, shameless self-plug: I'm considering doing a Fifty Things with Soul and Maka once this concludes. Would any of you lovely readers wish to read something like that? (for those who have no idea what that is, check my homepage for examples)**

**Review please!**


	12. Monday: Afternoon

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

"Maka Albarn?" She looked up from her work to see Sid-sensei waving for her attention. "You've been asked to go to the principal's office. Family emergency."

It was still two hours before final bell. The school day passed too quickly for Maka's liking, and she was still trying to figure what she wanted to say when she saw her father. It was actually a lot harder than she'd thought it'd be. Every other time he'd messed up, Maka had just scolded him out and left it at that. But now, after three days of not seeing the man, Maka was coming to grips with just how big this fight had been.

Panicked, Maka looked three seats over to Black*Star. He met her eyes and mouthed _I got it, _whipping out his phone and quickly sending the mass text. Then he raised his hand and said, "Yo Sid, I gotta take a leak. Can I take the pass?" Thankfully their teacher didn't see through this weak ploy, so Maka was able to walk to Mr. Reaper's office with her childhood friend.

"Old Man Albarn's got balls," Black*Star remarked, folding his hands behind his head nonchalantly. "Calling you outta class like this."

"He's throwing his weight around again." She couldn't keep her breathing regular, and the thought of facing her father unprepared was not helping. The beginnings of her argument were already getting lost in the panic.

"Hey." A hand rested on her shoulder, stopping her thoughts and feet in their tracks. "Maka, deep breaths. It's gonna be okay." His eyes met hers with a small smile. "Remember, if the great me says it's okay, it will be."

This was his own way of comforting her, however weird it was. Again Maka was thankful that he was acting normally. It wasn't a complete act, but when there was no audience, he could tone down his entire god spiel to manageable levels. "Thanks Black*Star, for coming with me."

"No prob. Want my opinion?" When she nodded, he scowled. "Rip him a new one. That ass really crossed the line this time."

"He's my dad, Black*Star. I can't just - "

"Yes you can. You're one of the toughest chicks I know. You gotta be a hardass with him." The blue-haired boy took his hand off her shoulder and turned away, folding his hands behind his head again. "When you're sad cuz of him, it really sucks." Suddenly he straightened up and looked back at her. "Hey. You got Soul's digits?"

Maka blinked, surprised at the sudden change in conversation. "Um. No."

"Here. I'll text the number." He completed the task in seconds. "Just in case something else happens. He'd get there the fastest, anyway."

She snorted in disbelief. "I doubt he'll go halfway across town if I sent him a text."

Black*Star smirked. "Betcha he would."

"I know better than to bet against you." The conversation ended once they arrived at the door of the principal's office. "Well, here I am."

Impulsively, the two friends hugged each other for a brief second. Then Black*Star coughed and mumbled what sounded like a goodbye and good luck rolled together and trotted off back to class. Fixing her uniform and putting on her scowl, Maka took a deep breath and opened the door.

Principal Reaper looked up from his desk. "Hello Maka," he said in greeting, his smile identical to his young son's. "Would you please come in?"

"Is something wrong, sir?" she asked, closing the door behind her and sitting in the chair offered. "Sid-sensei only said that it was a family emergency."

"Your father has called and asked that he be allowed to pick you up early from school. He says it's important." Golden eyes bored into her. "Is he exaggerating again?"

About to confirm, Maka felt her pocket vibrate. She checked the screen of her phone and saw a text from an unfamiliar number. Frowning, she opened it.

**It's Soul. Stay tough. You can do this.**

For some reason, those eight words gave her the fortification to think_ Well, no time like the present. _Maka shook her head. "No sir. Something important has come up."

"Very well. You may pack your bag and leave the school. I hope this emergency resolves itself peacefully."

"Me too, sir. Thank you, sir."

* * *

The ride home from Death City High was more silent than a graveyard at midnight, but Maka didn't feel like breaking it. Better to let her father squirm uncomfortably in the awkward quiet. She wasn't about to make this easy for him.

When they arrived at her house, Maka grabbed her bag and made for the front door. Spirit came up behind her, anxiously calling her name. She didn't face him until her bag was thrown into her room. By that time, she knew how she was going to proceed.

This last thing wasn't just him going at it with another woman; Maka was too smart to think he'd been a saint after the divorce. And it wasn't because he'd come home later either; that was his perogative, and she had no say over that.

He'd brought home a woman without calling ahead to tell his daughter. Yes, she'd overreacted. Badly. But he'd still brought the slut home with him.

Boundaries would have to be made.

"Papa, we need to talk - "

"MAKA, MY DEAREST ANGEL!" he bawled, throwing his arms around her and squeezing her tightly. "I WAS SO AFRAID SOMETHING HORRIBLE HAD HAPPENED TO YOU!"

"So why didn't you just call me?" she choked out, pushing out of his embrace.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE LOST OR KIDNAPPED OR DEAD! NOBODY WOULD TELL ME WHERE YOU WERE!" His tears dried up instantly as he held her shoulders and demanded, "Where you at a boy's house?"

The sheer hypocrisy of his anger made Maka's eyes narrow. "Yes," she said spitefully. "A classmate. You don't know him. And he lives alone." The horror in Spirit's eyes gave her a small beat of satisfaction. "I was at his place _all weekend_."

Spirit recovered from his horror quick enough. "Have I taught you nothing about boys?" His eyes quickly looked over her, as if checking for bruises or hickies or another type of injury. "Did he - "

"It hurts, don't it Papa?" Maka interrupted, fixing him with her emerald stare. "Thinking that I'm doing sort of thing? Imagine if you walked in on me doing that." His jaw dropped, but she pushed on to make her point. "You _brought home a woman_, Papa. And you were halfway to _doing it _when you stumbled through the front door." Her voice dropped to a whisper, too disgusted to yell. "No call, no warning, nothing. Just so you could get laid by some half-drunk, makeup-slathered floozy."

"Maka, I - "

She shook her head, cutting him off. The litany bubbled from her lips like the froth of a witch's cauldron. "I don't expect you to not date. I don't expect you to be a saint. But geez, Papa, our couch? You couldn't even wait til you got back to your own room? I live in this house too!" Her voice rose in volume steadily, but she maintained her calm.

His hands reached for her in supplication, but when she flinched away, he stopped mid-reach. "Maka, I swear it was just a moment of weakness," he pleaded with her. "I'll never do it again, I pro - "

"Don't. I know you won't keep this promise like you haven't all the others." She took a deep breath. "There's going to have to need some rules. You can't come home plastered at all hours of the night, bringing home any woman that suits your fancy, and expect me to just let it slide without a word. Call me first so I can go to Tsubaki's or the Thompsons' place. And I don't care how hot she is, there's no way any of those floozies are ever staying the nigh - "

The look on Spirit's face had her stop in mid-tirade. It was the same look he had when he came home reeking of booze and saucy perfume. The same look he had when she'd find the phone numbers of his "informants" written on cocktail napkins stuffed in his pants pockets while doing laundry. The same look he had when Maka's mother had called him out on his cheating.

The look of guilt.

She had to swallow hard to force her throat to open up and say, "Papa, don't tell me she's still here."

"Spirit? Are you back?"

Maka closed her eyes as she heard the female voice emanating from her father's bedroom. Turning slowly, she saw the blonde woman standing in the doorway, her busty body wrapped in one of the bedsheets. She rubbed her eyes sleepily as she said, "I took a quick nap, so I'm raring to go again if you - " Seeing Maka staring at her agape, the woman giggled nervously and said, "Who's this plain-looking girl? Is she staying long?"

Suddenly Maka couldn't breathe right. Her body locked up in equal parts rage and disgust, unable to fully comprehend just how entirely _wrong _this situation had just become. "I'm his _daughter_," she spat at the tramp.

And that was when the thought hit her. _I can't keep doing this anymore._

He wasn't going to change. Her mother had known that, and foolish as it was, Maka had wanted to prove her wrong. But now she knew it would never happen. The thought gave her the clarity to understand what her mother had done, and the strength to do the same.

Looking back at Spirit, she gave him the flattest glare of disgust and said, "I'm going for a walk, Papa. You two should talk."

His eyes widened almost comically. "What? Maka, wait!" Spirit tried to call after her, but Maka shot out the front door and hit the ground running. Her phone was out and ringing as she rounded the corner and ducked into a Starbucks coffeeshop, watching her father race down the street calling her name.

He answered in less than two rings. "_Maka?_"

"Soul, come get me." The tears were starting to come, but since she was in public, she fought to hold them at bay. "Please. I'm at the Starbucks on the corner of Garrote and Sickle - "

"_I know where it is. I'll be there in ten._"

Nine minutes and ten seconds later, Maka was standing on the sidewalk as he pulled up on his motorcycle. "I take it the conversation didn't go so well," he remarked, idling by the curb as he rested his elbows on the handlebars.

"You think?" she replied shortly. She threw a leg over the motorcycle and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Let's go."

"Running again?"

The sound of "MAKA!" being screamed down the street made both teens jump in shock. Spirit stood at the far end of the street, his clothes disheveled and his chest heaving, his eyes wide in horror as he took in the sight of his daughter astride a motorcycle with an unfamiliar boy. That look quickly changed to rage as his hand moved towards his hip. "Freeze! Kidnapper!"

She tightened her grip around Soul's waist. "Get us out of here!"

"Got it!" Soul swung the bike around with a squeal of tires and burning rubber and rocketed down the street.

* * *

**Review please!**


	13. Monday: Evening

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

"You wanna explain why I just committed curbside kidnapping in front of your cop father?" Soul demanded, locking his bike and pocketing the keys. "Or should I wait until half the force arrives to tase and Mirandize my ass?"

They were sitting on a stone wall that provided one of the best views of Death City. Maka's favorite spot, she had confided once they pulled up the hill. She was staring over the cityscape with a shell-shocked look on her face, arms loosely wrapped around herself. Heaving a sigh, Soul leaned his back against the wall and crossed his arms. "What happened?"

"...I figured out why Papa never called me." She shivered, but Soul could tell it was in anger. "He was...distracted. That woman he brought home...she stayed all weekend."

He couldn't help the soft curse that slipped through his lips. "Damn, Maka, I'm sorry. That sucks."

"She was still there when we got home, and she didn't even know I was his daughter. I was so mad at Papa I didn't even think. I - I just ran." She apologetically met his eyes and added, "Sorry, Soul. I was calling you before I could really start thinking about it."

"S'alright. I was just in the neighborhood." Black*Star had hinted that being around Maka's neck of the woods would be a good idea today. Soul turned around and rested his crossed arms on top of the wall, staring over the city while watching Maka out of the corner of his eye. The sadness was back in her eyes, tired and blue, just like it'd been that Thursday night when he found her crying by the Dumpster.

But now, after knowing what he knew about her, seeing that sadness hurt him more. "You can't live like this anymore, Maka," he stated bluntly.

She smiled. "Funny, that's what Black*Star said."

"He's got a good idea every couple weeks." _Two in one day, __he won't have any good ones for at least a month. _"Hey, idea." When she looked over to meet his eyes, Soul said, "Why don't you emancipate yourself?"

Maka frowned as she thought about it. "Really? I could do that?"

"Totally. You're obviously a responsible person, and it's not like the requirements are difficult." At her raised eyebrow Soul continued. "After you turn eighteen you're a legal adult and your own person, but until then, you have to honor the arrangement with the court."

She leaned closer to him, obviously intrigued by what he was saying. "You sound like you know what you're talking about."

"Did it myself last year after I came to Nevada. Best decision of my life, really."

"What are the requirements?"

"Since you're a minor, you have to have a permanent address, a steady source of income, and must complete at least your high school degree." Soul smirked. "That last one shouldn't be too hard, bookworm."

"Neither is the income one. I tutor a couple people several times a week." At his raised eyebrow Maka gave a matching smirk. "People pay good money to learn. And they pay more when they suck so bad they need more lessons."

The use of his own words made Soul chuckle before he returned to being serious. "That's not gonna cut it. You need a W-2 form and steady work." His eyebrows lifted in thought. "You ever hear of The Black Room?"

"Isn't that a jazz club downtown?" He nodded, and Maka replied, "Yeah, I've heard of it. Liz says it's an amazing place, especially on Saturdays when their live band plays..." Her eyes went wide in shock, recalling when he'd had to leave for work on Saturday night. "Wait. You play at The Black Room?"

"Yeah, I know the owner. He's been needing new waitress for the busy days." Soul gave her a look. "Not the best gig, but he pays pretty well."

"Well, there's employment down," Maka joked. "But finding a place of my own's gonna be tough. Housing isn't exactly cheap and not many landlords will rent to highschool students. How did you manage it?"

"On account of my devilish good looks," he joked, baring his sharklike teeth for effect. "And the fact that Blair co-signed for the lease." Trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, Soul added, "You know, she's been looking for a new place recently, and there's a three-bedroom she's had her eye on for a while now."

"A three bedroom?" Maka repeated, confused.

"Technically Blair and I can make the rent by ourselves, but she was really hoping we'd get a third person." The question was in her eyes before her mouth even voiced it, so he saved her the effort. "I think she'd love to have you as a roommate, honestly."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. It'll give her another target beside me." He dared to look back at her. "I mean, you don't have to. It's just an option."

"I kinda like the idea." Maka's smile was grateful as well as warm. "It wouldn't be too much of a problem, would it?"

"Wouldn't offer if it was."

She rested her elbows on her knees and propped up her chin on her hands. "I won't lie, that sounds mighty tempting. Do you think I've got a case?"

"You're old enough, and this weekend definitely qualifies as neglect. It's a good case." Gathering up his courage, Soul leaned over to bump his shoulder against hers. "But it's up to you, Maka. You're the one who'll have to sell it to the judge."

"Oh trust me, after this weekend, I'm sure I can be more than convincing." Her body suddenly shifted, and before he could process what was going to happen, Soul experienced the very strange sensation of having a girl's head resting on his shoulder. He hesitantly put an arm around her in a gentle hug, and was surprised when Maka's hand reached over to cover his. They sat there for another hour in silence, just watching the sun descend over the city and relaxing in each other's presence.

Finally Maka spoke. "I should head home now, huh?"

"I'd really not like to get arrested, so yeah, you should." Reluctant to let go of her, the white-haired youth gave her hand a last squeeze and turned to climb off the wall. He reached up to help her dismount the wall, and when she instantly gripped his hands, he was struck by how easily she let herself be helped by him. They barely knew each other -

_Can't say that, _he thought wryly. After living with her for four days, they both knew more than most others could claim to know. Her unjudging presence helped him open up, and he became a person she could confide in. Somehow, two mutually distrustful souls had found each other and developed a bond that defied all expectations.

Friends? They were well on their way to that. Maybe even...he remembered how close they'd been on Sunday night, how close he'd come to kissing her, and wondered...

"Soul?" With a shock he noticed that they were still holding hands, and a pair of olive green eyes were staring up at him with a strange mix of amusement and affection. "Come in, space cadet. You're fading out," she teased.

He flashed a crooked smile back. "Sorry. Just thinking about how I should tell Blair that you might be our third roommate. She'll be over the moon happy."

She giggled. "Just tell her that I'm really excited about it too." Suddenly she was hugging him again, and once again, Soul was surprised by her next action. A soft pressure on his cheek barely registered before she pulled away, blushing and smiling shyly. "Thanks, Soul," she mumbled. "For everything."

"No problem."

* * *

In less than fifteen minutes, they were pulling up in front of Maka's house. She paused, her arms staying around Soul's waist as she looked at the front door apprehensively. "I really wish I didn't have to do this," she admitted to Soul.

"I could come in with you," he offered as they dismounted. "Moral support."

She winced as she returned his helmet. "That would actually be worse. Papa's frightfully hostile to guys. I just hope he hasn't seen you yet, or he'll - "

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Maka and Soul jumped in shock at the sudden ear-splitting yell. Turning back to the house, they saw Spirit Albarn standing in the doorway, brandishing what looked like a fully functional version of the Grim Reaper's iconic scythe. "YOU WRETCHED ALBINO BASTARD, HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY ANGEL AND THEN ROLL UP TO MY HOUSE AS BOLD AS BRASS?" Spirit screamed, swinging the scythe with an unusually high level of aptitude.

She could see Soul's lips curling into the widest, most devilish smirk and almost _heard _the snark before it tumbled out of his mouth. "Your blood pressure steady enough for playtime, old man?"

"I'LL CLEAVE YOU IN TWO!"

"Cleave? Who the hell talks like that?"

"I HEARD THAT!"

"Well, at least you've got your hearing."

Maka giggled at his complete lack of respect. He wasn't afraid of her father; in fact, he seemed to relish the chance to make Spirit boiling mad. If she wanted to know without a doubt that being with Soul would be anything but the right choice, this was the perfect moment.

_Wait, BEING with Soul? _She had meant _living_ with him, but the Freudian slip made her heartbeat pick up speed. When she realized that she was blushing like a stupid schoolgirl, she quickly looked to her father -

- and panicked when she saw that he was serious about causing bodily harm. "Uh, you really should go," she said, placing a hand on Soul's arm. "Now."

"You sure? I'd _love _to spend time with your dad," Soul snickered, his ruby eyes lighting up with mischief. "He seems like he's two shouts shy of a heart attack."

"You're courting death, you know that?"

"I like to experience something new every day."

"I doubt you want to see how it feels for your head to walk around with no neck under it." But Maka was smiling nonetheless.

With a dramatic roll of his eyes, Soul sighed. "Fine. Spoilsport."

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." She pressed another kiss to his cheek and smiled when she heard Spirit's strangled scream of disbelief.

Soul's eyes were full of conflicting emotions, but the smirk remained as he returned the cheek kiss. "See ya."

She waited until Soul's bike took off down the street before turning to her father and saying, "Papa, we need to talk. I've been giving this a lot of thought..."

* * *

**Oh god, FINALLY! Another chapter! (is what I hear everyone yelling) Next one is the last one, so stay tuned!**

**Review please!**


	14. One Rainy Saturday: Two Years Later

**Rain Soaked Tears**

**By: DemonClowSorceress**

**And here is the final chapter! Thank you all for staying with me so patiently! Enjoy this epilogue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Soul Eater_.**

* * *

Mr. Blood smirked as he chewed on his cigar and looked over his classy establishment from behind the stage curtain. The Saturday night acts were always a big draw, and tonight was no exception. Again he patted himself on the back for hiring those extra waitresses on Eater's advice.

Especially the skinny blonde girl. She wasn't much of a looker, so Mr. Blood had put her on door duty. Immediately he knew he'd made the right choice. She was polite and charming, did her work quickly and well, didn't make trouble among the patrons, and looked absolutely stunning in that classy hostess dress...

"You're laughing to yourself again, boss."

"Eater," snickered the little man, turning to see his star act slouching against the wall, dressed in his performance outfit. "I hear it's almost a full house out there. Ready to drive them mad?" he asked, chewing his cigar with a huge grin.

Soul rolled his eyes. "Don't you ever give up? The way you're talking, it's like you think I take over their souls or something."

"That's exactly what your music does, my boy." The squat bald man couldn't understand why this talented little weirdo didn't see what he was talking about. Soul was the reason people kept coming back to the Black Room on Saturday nights, why they brought more people to hear his dark, fearfully fascinating music. His tune lured them like a siren's call, went straight through their blood and bones and touched something within their very souls. "And it's only gotten better since you met that blonde."

"Maka?"

Mr. Blood nodded. "I used to have to beg, bribe and threaten you to get up here every Saturday, and you'd bolt the instant your set finished. Now you stroll on like you own the stage and play until we close."

"I told you, I gotta make rent. We both do."

"Which is why I said Albarn could work both Saturday shifts. Never said you had to." There was a twinkle in the old man's black eyes as he smirked at Soul. "Something's changed in you, Eater. Don't bother denying it," he said, seeing the boy start to do just that. "Just making an observation."

With another roll of his eyes Soul said, "Whatever. I'm up."

"Knock them dead, kid." Mr. Blood toddled onto the stage and hopped up on the piano stool, raising the microphone to his lips. "Alright everyone, here comes the main attraction you've all come down to see tonight. Give it up for that dark, dashing young master musician, Soul Eater!"

* * *

Maka heard the little demon-man (she never called Mr. Blood that aloud) announce Soul and turned around, craning her neck to catch a glimpse. Even after working at the Black Room for several months, she'd never actually seen Soul playing. She always heard his music filtering out into the alcove entrance, but the hostess station was around the corner and didn't allow a clear line of sight. And she couldn't abandon her post either; Saturday nights meant a constant flow of guests, which required her to take reservations and direct people to the bar or the lounge or the coat room or the bathrooms or the -

"Y-You look an-n-noyed, M-Maka."

She gave the stammering youth an apologetic grin. "Sorry, Crona. Did you need something?"

"M-Mother told me th-that I could man the s-station now." Crona's mother, Medusa, was the talented bartender and a silent partner of the Black Room. She gave Maka a creepy feeling because of her strangely snakelike eyes, but she'd managed to have civil conversation with the woman. "You wanna see S-Soul perform, r-right?"

Maka thanked the lanky youth and slipped into the lounge just as the house lights dimmed and Soul appeared on stage. Her breath caught in her throat. He was even more handsome in his pinstriped black suit, the red dress shirt a shock of color between jacket and his black tie, and the darker colors made his white hair stand out. Her hands unconsciously patted her lacy hostess dress free of wrinkles, forgetting that the dim light and her black dress made it almost impossible for Soul to see her.

"Maka!" came a loud whisper from her left. Peering through the gloom, Maka was surprised to see Miss Marie waving at her from where she sat with Dr. Stein. "Maka, come join us!"

She shyly took the offered seat. "I didn't know you came here," she whispered to Marie.

"I wanted to see the house band, and Franken needed to get out of his lab before he went insane." Shooting the smoking doctor a dry look, she amended, "More than usual."

"Don't lie. You wanted to see how Maka was doing as well," remarked Stein. The flash of his glasses told Maka that he had turned to look at her. "But that can wait until later. Soul's about to play."

She looked at the stage and saw that Soul had taken his place on the piano bench. His fingers hovered above the black instrument's ivory keys, and his eyes were already unfocused. Maka knew that look; he'd already retreated deep within himself, seeking the music that was about to come pouring out of his fingertips and stun the entire room.

His hands came crashing down, and when that first series of notes burst from the piano, Maka's breath caught in her throat. Again she was stunned at how dark it was, how it seemed to flood her soul with wonder and intrigue and make her heart pound. Every hair stood up on end as she watched Soul play as if possessed, feeling the electricity in the air as every other soul in the room was lured in by his music.

This was so, so much different than when he practiced at home. He wasn't so engulfed in the music that he lost himself in it. But that was why he played here, she figured. To lose himself completely, and to take as many people down with him into that darkness as he could.

It seemed to be over almost too soon, and he shakily rose to his feet amid the thunderous applause of a standing ovation. Maka clapped the hardest, her eyes shining as she watched Soul stagger backstage. He always looked so exhausted after a performance, and that meant she'd be in charge of breakfast tomorrow.

"So?" Stein asked, taking a sip from his drink. "Are you two doing well?"

Maka tore her eyes from the stage and focused on the question. "We make rent, get groceries every other week. Pretty good, really."

"And your grades?"

"Still in the top ten of my class." She raised an eyebrow at the line of questioning. "Why?"

Stein shook his head with a small smile. "Can't I just inquire after the only child I don't find irritating?" His eyes glanced over at the bar as the house lights came up a little, watching Medusa mixing drinks with easy grace. "Besides, I still have my reservations about your working here."

"Mr. Blood is a good man."

"He's a borderline sociopath."

Instead of pointing out the good doctor's own dubious mental health, Maka merely shrugged. "He pays good money and he's a fair boss." She checked her watch and stood up. "Sorry, but my shift's over now. I gotta get Soul home."

"Maka?" She looked back to see Miss Marie smiling. "Come see us soon, won't you?"

"I'll try, Miss Marie. Good night."

* * *

Blair still wasn't home when they entered the apartment, so Maka kicked off her shoes and headed into the kitchen to brew some chamomile tea. "Feed Bu-tan," she called out, hearing the black cat meow somewhere in the apartment.

"Later." She heard Soul drop face-first on the sofa with the elegance of a dumped corpse, groaning as his sore muscles stretched. "Ow. Damn. Ow. OW."

"That's what I should be saying. Unless you've been wearing spike heels all day too?" she teased.

"No, but you try doing that gig after unloading new glassware and supplies all day."

Maka winced. Usually Crona was able to manage inventory with the help of Ragnarok, his burly if abusive best friend, but the man had called in sick that day. "Want the heating pad?"

"God yes. Where is it?"

"Bathroom."

Another groan echoed through the apartment. "Too much effort."

"Wuss." The teakettle whistled, and she snapped off the gas and poured steaming water into two mugs emblazoned with smiling souls. Dropping a teabag in each cup, she headed back into the living room and placed his mug on the coffee table. "Scoot back, I wanna sit."

Soul obligingly shifted to his side to allow Maka to perch on the sofa in front of his stomach. Half-closed ruby eyes watched her as she blew across her steaming tea to cool it. "Saw Doc Stein and Miss Marie were talking to you after the set," he remarked. "They checking up on you?"

She shrugged. "They worry, sometimes. They like to make sure I'm okay." Sipping her tea, Maka caught him scowling. "What's wrong with you?"

"Just sore." With a surprising fluid motion despite his earlier complaints, Soul sat up and put a leg on either side of Maka, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. "Ahh, that feels good. You're real warm," he mumbled, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"What have I said about using me as your personal hot water bottle?" Maka asked crossly, but she leaned back against his chest anyway. His hug wasn't constricting or smothering like her papa's, but it also wasn't a complete embrace. Soul held her like he was fully expecting her to break free and wouldn't stop her if she did. "What's really on your mind, Soul?"

"Just thinking..." His neck stretched forward so that his cheek pressed against hers. "You're eighteen now, Maka. Graduation is only a few weeks away, and after that..."

Maka sighed patiently. Ever since the start of senior year, she and Soul had been having this conversation at least once every month. At first it had pissed her off, but now she understood his reason for keeping after the issue. After all, Soul knew her better than anyone. Knew she always looked for an out, an escape plan for every situation, and he was just giving her the out he thought she deserved.

She used to consider it, but a lot had changed in the two years since she emancipated herself from her father. She had carved out a life in this three-bedroom apartment with Blair and Soul, from adopting the spunky black cat that Blair named Bu-tan, to working two jobs to make rent and save up for college, to dealing with the gossip about her and Soul that continued to ripple through Death City High's halls. Not to mention discovering that to her everlasting surprise (or maybe not so much) that she had developed quite an attachment to Soul.

She couldn't consider leaving Soul now. She loved him too much.

Putting down her tea, Maka turned slightly in his arms so that she was looking straight into his eyes. "Soul, I'm not leaving," she said firmly. "I'm really happy here. Hell, I think it's the best home I've ever had, including when Mama and Papa were together. I love living with you and Blair, I really do." She leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. Fearful of his answer, she whispered, "Why would I leave?"

* * *

Swallowing hard, he tried to keep his voice level. "You're eighteen now, Maka. Graduation is only a few weeks away, and after that..."

They'd celebrated her birthday a month ago amid cheers and presents and delicious cake, but Soul had to fake his smile through the whole party. For him, it was just another milestone that had marked just how much time he had left with her. After graduation, Maka was free to go wherever she wanted. He knew Maka well, and he knew how she thought. Once she had that diploma in hand, she'd want to go out into the world, do more with her life than stay in Death City. She'd get out. She'd leave.

And because he loved her, he wouldn't stop her.

She twisted in his arms to face her, and Soul let his hands drop to clasp at the base of her waist. "Soul, I'm not leaving. I'm really happy here. Hell, I think it's the best home I've ever had, including when Mama and Papa were together. I love living with you and Blair, I really do," she insisted.

Soul heard her words, heard the truth ringing out with every syllable as clear as a bell, but he still couldn't completely make himself believe it. Maka was a sweet girl, a kind soul, and she never wanted to hurt her friends. She'd soften the blow as much as possible, give them time to prepare for the pain before laying it on them.

He didn't realize she'd leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. "Why would I leave?" she whispered.

He looked into those deep green eyes and sighed softly; a master of reading people's eyes, he could see that she was scared. "If you want to go, I won't stop you."

"Do you want me to go?"

Unconsciously his arms tightened around the girl. _Never, _his greedy self immediately shouted. "I don't want to keep you here if you don't want to stay," he admitted quietly.

Maka's gaze narrowed slightly, a sign that she was getting angry. Her hands came up and clasped behind his neck. "Stop being so damn self-righteous and just answer me."

"Fine." Before he lost his nerve, Soul put one hand on the back of her neck and pulled her in for a hard, fast kiss. She surprised him by responding in kind, her sweet insistence damn near taking his breath away. Her inexperience was painfully clear, but Soul didn't really care. He was her first, and she was his.

When they pulled apart, Maka's cheeks were flushed pink and she was breathless. Soul pressed another kiss to her lips, softer and lingering, and then whispered, "I don't want you to go, Maka."

"Then listen to me, stupid. I'm not going anywhere. I'm happy here, with all my friends, and with you." She smiled gently and added, "Besides, what just happened wasn't a one-time thing, right?"

Soul's lips tilted upwards. "That's right." He licked his lips nervously and added, "I like you. A lot, actually."

"I like you a lot too." Her blush deepened. "S-So, does this make us a...a couple?"

"If you want." Blushing like a fool himself, Soul felt like the singularly most uncool guy in the world for even _thinking _his next words. "I just want you to be happy." He met her eyes and let himself be completely honest about his selfish feelings. "But I want you to be mine, Maka."

"What a coincidence," she replied, leaning forward again so that their foreheads were touching. "I want you to be mine, too." Her eyes glanced over to the window, then blinked in surprise. "Look. It's raining."

Sure enough, Soul could see and hear the pattering of raindrops falling on Death City. "It was raining when I first met you," he recalled. "Remember?"

"How could I forget?" Maka snuggled back into his embrace and sighed, turning her head so her forehead rested against his cheek. "You must've thought I was nuts."

"Nah, just lost." _Just like I was_. His arms moved to envelop her as Soul leaned back on the couch. "That was a long time ago."

"Not so long," she murmured, already starting to doze off. "Soul?"

"Yeah?" he whispered, feeling the call of sleep himself.

"What made you take me home?"

Soul shrugged wearily. "Dunno. Guess you looked too pathetic to leave out there." He gave a soft 'ouch!' when the spine of a hardcover book weakly hit his shoulder. "Abuse much?"

"You're lucky I'm too tired to really make you hurt."

"Sounds kinky." Another smack with the book had Soul chuckling and tightening his embrace around her. "I kid, I kid. Geez."

"You're unbelieveable," Maka huffed.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway."

She muttered something that sounded like, "Cocky bastard," just before her eyes slid shut and her breathing evened out. Knowing she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, Soul let himself relax and closed his eyes as well.

The rain continued to fall outside, a steady patter that lulled both teens into the peaceful sleep they deserved.

* * *

**And that concludes this broadcast, folks! Thanks for sticking around all this time!**

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